LINDSAY — A man facing several drug and firearm charges may have been a major supplier of methamphetamine in Garvin County, police said.
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Drug and weapons charges were filed against Rickey L. Williams, 47, last week after police served a search warrant at his home and found materials used in making meth, according to court documents.
Police said Williams made the drug in trailers and buildings scattered across his 160 acres in rural Garvin County and sold it in Garvin and surrounding counties.
"I'd say he's responsible for about half of the meth coming into our city,” said Lindsay Police Chief Eric Dodson.
Tips from confidential informants led police to Williams' home where they found materials used to make meth, more than a dozen guns, live rattlesnakes, a bullet proof vest, drug paraphernalia and a marijuana plant growing several yards away from a mobile home on Williams' property.
Williams purchased pseudoephedrine at the local Wal-Mart and had a network of associates purchasing the over-the-counter cold medicines containing the key ingredient in methamphetamine, police said.
About 20 to 30 people had been steadily purchasing medicines with pseudoephedrine in it and supplying it to Williams, Dodson said. Records from the Wal-Mart in Lindsay show Williams made steady purchases of medication containing pseudoephedrine dating to January.
Charges against Williams include possession of a controlled, dangerous substance with intent to distribute, cultivating marijuana, possession of precursor substances and several other charges. Williams paid $39,000 in bail and was released from the Garvin County jail. He's expected in court June 22.
Since 2004, Oklahoma has limited the sale of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine. To purchase those medications, people must put their name in a statewide registry. Those controls helped authorities track Williams, said George Burnett, assistant district attorney.
Under Oklahoma law, people are limited to about seven boxes of medication with pseudoephedrine each month. A typical box contains 48 tablets. Meth cooks need about 600 to 900 pills to make a half ounce of methamphetamine, said Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
Oklahoma was the first state to limit the sale of cold medicines with psuedoephedrine. More than 40 states have since implemented similar laws. The restrictions have resulted in a 90 percent decrease in lab raids, Woodward said.
"Most of these people are cooking enough to support their habit,” Woodward said. "As soon as it's out of the frying pan it's going into an arm or a pipe. These are not drug dealers, these are cooks.”
