Sevierville SWAT Team Assists in Conducting Drug Operation That Resulted in 11 Arrests

Several law enforcement departments cooperated in a pre-planned operation recently in Sevierville which resulted in the arrests of 11 individuals, according to a statement by the Sevierville Police Department (SPD).

“I’m proud of the officers that worked long and hard gathering intelligence and then conducting this operation, and thankful for the support of our neighboring law enforcement agencies” SPD Chief Joseph Manning said. “Our residents deserve to be able to live without illegal drug activity in their neighborhood and all of the associated problems. We will continue to investigate illegal drug activity and work with our area law enforcement partners to keep our community safe.”

According to SPD, search warrants were executed at three separate Sevierville locations after law enforcement officials became aware of considerable drug activity that was being conducted there. Since August 2021, seven drug overdoses, four of which resulted in death, have occurred at two of the three addresses police searched. In just one recent 24-hour period (March 13-14th, 2022), there were two overdose deaths, the statement notes.

While executing the search warrants, officials say they seized heroin, methamphetamine, and assorted drug paraphernalia.

Individuals ranging in age from 24 to 60 years old were arrested in the raid:

• Lucas R. Gribble, 39 years old, of Sevierville, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, capias child support.
• Cory D. Kinser, 39, Sevierville, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
• Autumn P. Whittington, 28, Lenoir City, TN, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
• Sean P. Regan, 50, Sevierville, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
• Cory A. White, 48, Seymour, TN, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
• Ricky L. Mashburn, 60, Sevierville, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
• Lacey A. Rayfield, 31, Sevierville, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
• Kristy S. Bentley, 45, Sevierville, manufacturing, delivery, sale or possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, sale, delivery, manufacturing of heroin.
• Bruce Ogle III, 48, Sevierville, possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Samuel H. Floyd, 30, Pigeon Forge, possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Maria D. Johnson, 24, Sevierville, Capias Juvenile Court X2.

The operation was carried out by the SPD SWAT and other specialized team members and officers including Criminal Investigations and Narcotics, with assistance from SWAT and specialized team members and officers from the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, Pigeon Forge Police Department, Gatlinburg Police Department, and Sevier County Street Crimes Unit, according to the press release.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “SWAT Team” by Oregon Department of Transportation. CC BY 2.0.

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