Man convicted of meth charges

37-year-old from Dadeville convicted in federal court for manufacturing meth, felon possession of firearm

By From Staff Reports (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Dadeville man was convicted in federal court Wednesday of six counts related to the manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine and firearm violations.

James Harold Griffith, 37, of Dadeville was charged with manufacturing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime of manufacturing the methamphetamine, simple possession of methamphetamine, using a place to manufacture methamphetamine, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted on all counts.

The evidence introduced at trial showed that ton Feb. 25, 2008, investigators with the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force went to Griffith’s residence in Dadeville to execute a warrant connected with his child support payments, according to a statement released Thursday by U.S. District Attorney Leura G. Canary.

When he was arrested, the investigators allegedly found a container in one of his pockets that was holding what the investigators suspected was methamphetamine. After the investigators told Griffith that they had received reports that he was making methamphetamine at the location, Griffith gave investigators consent to search the house and property.

During the search, Griffith showed them the items he had been using to make meth, according to the district attorney’s press release. Investigators also located four long guns and a loaded .22 caliber revolver that were just outside the door of the bathroom in which Griffith had been cooking the methamphetamine.

Because of a previous felony conviction, Griffith was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. He was arrested along with Lewis Freeman Flowers, a houseguest who told investigators that he and Griffith had smoked methamphetamine within a couple of hours of the investigators’ arrival. Flowers also had a Glock pistol in the bedroom where he was staying.

Flowers pled guilty prior to trial pursuant to a plea agreement and testified at trial against Griffith.

Several of the substances confiscated by the investigators were sent to the State of Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences laboratory where they were tested, the results of which showed that the total amount of methamphetamine was 150.189 grams.

The day after he was arrested, Griffith was interviewed at the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office. During the interview, Griffith gave a statement to a Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force Investigator who typed the statement. In the statement, Griffith stated that he had been using methamphetamine for about 12 years and that he had been cooking it for three or four years. Griffith also informed the investigator of the locations where he had purchased items to make methamphetamine and admitted that all the items at the residence used to make methamphetamine were his.

On June 16, 2009, Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task force investigators and the United States Marshals Service went to Griffith’s home in Tallapoosa County to serve him with an indictment that had been returned based on the evidence recovered on Feb. 25, 2008.

While at Griffith’s home, investigators found that he had two more long guns, which he told them he had brought into the house. Griffith was subsequently indicted for possessing those guns.

The case was investigated through the joint efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force and was presented by Assistant United States Attorney W. Brent Woodall and Louis V. Franklin Sr.

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