Economics

Vehicle stop for traffic offense results in meth-related arrest

Published: Friday, February 8, 2008 12:14 PM CST
For the Daily Gate City

The Lee County Narcotics Task Force reported the arrest of a Keokuk man on a felony drug charge.

Chris-topher A. Matous, 23, 3000 S. Seventh St., was charged with conspiracy to manufacture less than five grams of methamphetamine, a Class C felony. If convicted, Matous could face up to 10 years in a state correctional facility.

The arrest stems from an investigation by the task force into allegations Matous was involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine in the Keokuk area.

He was arrested Thursday following a traffic stop for a driving offense by Keokuk police. Investigators later searched the vehicle and found items that indicated the manufacture of and/or use of methamphetamine.

Task force Commander Dave Hinton said Matous had a knife in his possession. Matous was taken to the Lee County Jail pending an initial court appearance.

Matous also was charged with driving under suspension and operating while intoxicated.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office also assisted with the investigation.

Matous is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The Lee County Narcotics Task Force is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Justice and funds administered by the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy.

And the first comment on the article…

Boo….the Boogeyman strikes again wrote on Feb 8, 2008 1:55 PM:
” hmmmm….Under 5 grams which could be .01 gram to .499 grams. Pretty small amount…IIn the worse case scenario, ts still about 2 years in prison a gram. So add up the total LOSS to society (40,000 a year per inmate for 10 years=400,000 plus trial, medical care, public defender, jail services, court services, police services…it probably adds up to a half million dollar waste of tax payer funds). What a waste, I guarantee you that no one in this world would have ever spent half a million on Mr Matous or his family to HELP them yet we’ll spend like crazy to condemn them.

A knife…BOO… there’s the meth boogeyman again. Of course it could have been completely legal to have the knife since I didn’t see where they had charged hm with a weapons offense. The police are trying to scare you. Maybe it was a pocketknife (i carry one of those) or a kitchen knife. BOO…do they report on everyone they arrest and the contents of their pockets….?

How about a drug dversion program for Mr Matous? Maybe we could spend some cash and help the Matous family rather than throw them away. Ths meth thng is out of control and I don’t mean its use or manufacture, as bad as it may be. Let’s stop the punitive enforcement of draconian laws concerning drugs. Let’s recall law enforcement’s reckless pursuit of drug offenses and replace them with a more measured response. Let’s make sure that police administators quit perpetuating myths and misconceptons. We always hear about the social costs of meth….lets hear about the costs of meth related law enforcement in terms of money, time and lives. Maybe those resources could be better spent elsewhere (schools, housing, heath care). “

A Message To Myself

Phrases from this Cracked.com article that I want to remember to use in casual conversation.

Regarding the word “Alligator”: Because it’s hard to imagine what people called them before then. We figure cries of “Ye Gods, watch out for that Chompapottamus!” were much more common in those days.

Regarding the word “epileptic”: He was a poet, an actor, and a doctor?! It makes us wonder if Shakespeare might have invented other afflictions that didn’t catch on, like tuberculasers or genital slurpees.