The discovery of a meth lab at a local home resulted in the arrest of five people on Aug. 6.
The sheriff’s department took 46-year-old Patricia Lynn Durham of Smithville, 36-year-old Tara Leann Alford of McMinnville, 36-year-old Andy Joe Certain of Smithville and 25-year-old Brandon Wayne Hutchings of Sparta into custody and charged them all with promotion of the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Sherry Kay Malone, 34, of Watertown was also arrested and charged with initiation of a process to manufacture methamphetamine.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, a drug detective went to Durham's residence for a “knock and talk,” and received permission to search the premises.
The detective allegedly found a one-liter bottle, a 20-ounce bottle containing a bi-layered liquid, two lithium batteries, a bag of white powder believed to be Pseudoephedrine weighing 29 grams, 12 hypodermic needles, a Visine bottle containing acid, and several other items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Ray said Malone admitted to the detective that the items belonged to her.
The remainder of the people at the home others were charged because they were in the same room where the items were located.
Bond for each was set at $50,000, and they will appear in court on Aug, 22.
Meanwhile, a man sought by Mercer County, West Virginia authorities on charges of attempted second-degree murder was found at a home in Smithville on Aug. 8.
Keith O'Brian Jeffries, 47, is charged with being a fugitive from justice.
The sheriff said that a deputy received information that Jeffries was at a  residence on Morgan Drive and there was an active warrant against him.
The lawman was reportedly allowed into the home, where residents told him that Jeffries was in a back bedroom.
Ray said the deputy went to the bedroom and knocked on the door, but got no answer. He then forced his way into the room, found Jeffries, and arrested him.
Jeffries bond was set at $100,000, and he will appear in court on August 15.
Travis Marcus Melton, 20, of Sparta was arrested in connection with a sealed indictment on August 6.
Melton was named in an indictment by the Grand Jury on Aug. 5 for two counts of aggravated burglary, theft of property over $1,000 and theft of property under $500.
Melton allegedly entered a home and took a 12-gauge shotgun, 12-gauge ammunition, a Disney Pellet Rifle, a .22 caliber Ruger handgun, ammunition, a 52-inch flat screen television, a DVD player, a leather jewelry box, $25 in cash, knives, an air compressor, tools, a tool box, pillow cases, several bottles of liquor, a gas can, a hatchet with sheath, a machete with sheath, a Browning hunting knife with sheath, two fishing poles with reels, a coke machine key and three dollars in change on March 1, 2012.
In the second aggravated burglary and theft under $500 charge, the indictment alleges that “On or about the third day of March, 2012, Melton did intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly enter the habitation of the victim with the intent to commit theft of property, constituting the offense of aggravated burglary.”
The indictment further alleges that Melton took a Henry .22 caliber lever-action rifle on March 3, 2012.
After his arrest on the above charges, he was also charged with introduction of drugs into a penal institution after correctional officers allegedly found less than a half-ounce of marijuana while searching him.
Joshua Lee Anderson, 21, was charged with vandalism on Aug. 8.
According to the sheriff, while he was in jail on other charges, Anderson stuffed a blanket down the toilet and flushed it, causing the cell to flood.
He allegedly covered the cameras to keep correctional officers from being able to witness the incident.
His bond was set at $1,500
John David Anderson, 25, was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing on July 30.
Ray said  Anderson was at the home of a family member on Quail Point Drive after being told several times to stay off the property.
His bond was set at $1,500, and he will appear in court on Aug. 15.
Stephen Hunter Pugh, 25, was charged with a second offense of driving under the influence and driving on a revoked license on Aug. 9.
The sheriff said Pugh was operating a motor vehicle on Highway 70 West when he was stopped by a deputy for failure to maintain his lane of travel.
The officer had prior knowledge that Pugh's license was revoked. A computer check confirmed that his license was revoked for a prior DUI on May 14, 2009 in DeKalb County.
Pugh's speech was allegedly slurred and he was unsteady on his feet.
He reportedly had a white, powdery substance in and on his nose, and performed poorly on all field sobriety tasks. He also submitted to a blood test.
His bond was set at $7,500, and he will appear in court on Aug. 22.