Pot, Ecstasy Seized

Six men were arrested Wednesday after police found a large amount of marijuana and Ecstasy at a Pikeville residence.

Pike County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Mattingly said the investigation came about through the assistance of the Pike County Probation and Parole Office, and led officers to the Perry Street residence of Anthony D. Gibson, 24.

“We got information they were selling a large amount of Ecstacy and marijuana out of the residence,” Mattingly said. “Further investigation led us to obtain a search warrant.”

That investigation, he said, revealed a thriving drug trafficking trade at the residence.

“They had a pretty good business,” Mattingly said, adding that the residence resembled a “drive-through,” because of the high volume of traffic.

At about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff’s department officers, along with officers with the Pikeville Police Department, entered the residence, arrested Gibson and five others and found a large amount of marijuana and the psychoactive drug Ecstasy, as well as several pieces of drug paraphernalia.

The information the department received indicates the men had been selling drugs at the residence for a long period of time.

The fact that Ecstasy was found during the raid, Mattingly said, is a problem.

“It is a big concern,” Mattingly said. “I can only think of a couple of other instances where we’ve dealt with the drug.”

Mattingly also pointed out that Ecstasy can be lethal to users.

“What concerns us most is the effects of Ecstasy,” he said.

Mattingly said the Ecstasy found in the residence is believed to carry a street value of $1,000. During the search, he said, officers also found $1,000 in cash and several firearms.

Gibson and the other five men were charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, trafficking in marijuana between eight ounces and five pounds, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 yards of a school, due to the residence’s proximity to Pikeville College.

The others arrested during the raid were:

• Anthony Gibson’s father, Lonnie Gibson, 54, of River Branch Road, Pikeville.

• Benjamin Daniel Johnson, 19, of Zebulon Highway, Pikeville.

• Michael R. Ray, 23, of Clover Street, Louisville.

• Christopher V. Villalovos, 24, of Perry Street.

• Seth Blankenship, 19, of Perry Street.

All of the men, with the exception of Lonnie Gibson, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday before Pike District Judge Kelsey E. Friend Jr., who ordered them held on $20,000 cash bonds.

Lonnie Gibson was not arraigned, Mattingly said, because he was transported to Pikeville Medical Center from the jail early Thursday morning due to a health problem.

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