Sheriff’s tip line yields drug sales arrests

Local authorities arrested three people last week in two separate cases for reportedly selling illegal drugs.

“Once again, these arrests are a result of local citizens calling our tip line and letting us know of suspicious activity in their neighborhoods,” said Lieutenant Harry Luke, of Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

On Feb. 27, two women were arrested for selling methamphetamine and other drug-related charges.

Jenna Wright, 38, and Constence Desirae Wright, 35, both of Scuffleboro Road, were charged with Violation of Georgia Controlled Substance Act (VGCSA) – possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, sale of methamphetamine, possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance (Alprazolam), possession and use of drug-related objects,

A search warrant was obtained and executed at the women’s home after several undercover or controlled purchases, Luke said. Authorities confiscated between 2 and 4 ounces of methamphetamine in crystalized form.

“That meth right there is right pretty, so it probably came from a conversion lab, which means it came from the cartel across our wonderful border,” Luke explained.

The street value of the methamphetamine is currently around $250 an ounce, Luke said.

“They don’t make that much money selling it now, but the further down they break it, the more money they’ll make from it,” he explained.

The veteran lawman said that 20 years ago, methamphetamine would sell for $1,400-$1,600 an ounce, but the price plummeted with the ease of crossing the Mexican border into the U.S.

In an unrelated case, Lontavious Cantrell Nelson, 34, of Alexander Dr., Eatonton, was arrested on March 3 on two counts of VGCSA – Sale of crack cocaine, transaction of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of Housing Project, and driving while license suspended.

Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell said he and Luke worked together on the cocaine-selling case, and again, it came as a result of calls to the tip line and subsequent controlled buys.

Nelson was already on probation for a 2014 conviction of the same charges of selling cocaine. In June 2014, Superior Court Judge Hulane George sentenced Nelson to 15 years, four of those years to be served in confinement and the remainder on probation.

That sentence was supposed to end on Aug. 13, 2029, according to court records from the Putnam County Clerk of Court’s office.

Nelson violated his probation twice – in 2019 and again in 2022, and was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison both of those times. He also was banned from Putnam County upon his release, and not allowed to return until his sentence ends in 2029.