Units from multiple shifts and divisions of the Livingston Police Department converged on a suspected drug dealer’s home and vehicle early Thursday morning, resulting in multiple arrests and nearly a pound of methamphetamine.
Officers first initiated a traffic stop on the suspect’s vehicle on Highway 190 West around 1 a.m. During the stop, a K-9 officer alerted on the vehicle. The impending search yielded multiple baggies of narcotics, located in a hidden compartment in the backseat of the vehicle.
The driver was identified as John Way, 61, who was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. A female passenger was also arrested for warrants stemming from a theft in Livingston.
Just after 2 a.m., a search warrant for Way’s home on Castlewood Road was served. Patrol and criminal investigation division units made entry into the house, and two male residents were detained as the search was conducted. Multiple narcotics were located, including bags and containers of marijuana and methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a firearm. The two males, later identified as Kyle Way, 29, and William Stewart, 50, were both arrested and charged with manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance.
The LPD said all three males arrested are convicted felons with lengthy criminal histories. They were taken to the Polk County Jail and the investigation is still ongoing with information and evidence still being collected. More arrests or charges could be forthcoming.
“We got drug dealers off the streets today and kept a pound of meth from poisoning our community,” Livingston Police Chief Matt Parish said via social media. “This was all made possible by using a combination of modern technology and good, old-fashioned police work.”
