Ross County Sheriff, George Lavender, reports that his office partnered with the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force last week to conduct Drug Interdiction on U.S. 23, U.S. 35, U.S. 50, S.R. 772 as well as the villages of Bainbridge and Frankfort.
Deputies conducted several traffic stops during the 3 day event which took place Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Suspected Heroin and Meth were seized as well as Drug Abuse Instruments and items consistent with Drug Trafficking.
The Interdiction culminated on Saturday when Roger Fillmore, 36, of Bainbridge, was stopped on S.R. 41 North just outside of Bainbridge.
Sergeant Max Adair initiated a traffic stop on Mr. Fillmore for a marked lanes violation. Mr. Fillmore drove for approximately 1.5 miles on S.R. 41 before stopping at the residence of a relative in the 5000 block.
The Ford Truck that Mr. Fillmore was driving was found to have fictitious plates. Sergeant Adair conducted an inventory search of the vehicle before it was towed from the scene and discovered items consistent with a Meth Lab.
Investigators from the U.S. 23 Crimes Task Force were on the scene and discovered a total of four Meth Labs in the back of the truck. The U.S. 23 Task Force Investigators dismantled the labs with the assistance of the Bainbridge Fire Department.
Mr. Fillmore was arrested and charged with Illegal Manufacture, Failure to Comply, Possession of Criminal Tools, Fictitious Registration, and the Marked Lanes Violation. Sheriff Lavender says Mr. Fillmore is also the suspect in several other Drug Offenses in the Western half of Ross County.