MANTI—A married couple who had been living in a camp trailer parked between Manti and Ephraim are facing serious drug-distribution charges after being pulled over on Manti Street in Manti March 25.
The drugs involved were methamphetamine and heroin. And one of the arresting officers, Det. Derick Taysom of the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office, said the case was the biggest drug bust in six months in the county.
In a search of the Lemon vehicle and a search of their camp trailer later the same day, officers seized 285 grams of meth, which has a street value between $17,000 and $19,000, and 13.7 grams of heroin worth about $1,300.
The husband, Alan Duwayne Lemon, 48, is charged with two counts of distribution or arranging distribution of a controlled substance, both second-degree felonies; possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class B misdemeanor.
His wife, Cynthia Ann Hazel Lemon, 38, is charged with one count of distribution or arranging distribution of drugs, a second-degree felony; one count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and driving with a measurable amount of a controlled substance in her body, a Class B misdemeanor.
Notable, Cynthia Lemon was facing other drug distribution charges at the time of her arrest.
The Sanpete Major Crimes Task Force had intercepted texts she sent and received Jan. 17 and Jan. 22. “These conversations discussed the purchasing, transporting and delivery of controlled substances using words commonly used in the distributions of controlled substances,” Taysom wrote in a probable-cause (PC) statement.
Subsequently, Cynthia Lemon was arrested and charged with two counts of distribution or arranging distribution of controlled substance, both second-degree felonies.
At a hearing in 6th District Court last Wednesday, March 25 on the recent charges, Judge Marvin Bagley set bail for Alan Lemon at $4,000. His public defender said he would be able to make that bail. Bagley also placed Alan Lemon under the supervision of Deputy Jeff Greenwell, Sanpete County probation officer.
But when it came to Cynthia Lemon, Sanpete County Attorney Kevin Daniels objected to her being let out of jail at all. “I am absolutely opposed to her release,” he said.
He pointed to the earlier charges and added that the amount of meth seized March 25 had been the most in a case in some time.
“In my procedure … we are very liberal about letting people out on pretrial release, but if you come with new charges, it’s another story,” Judge Bagley said. “So I am denying release because she was out on pretrial release and got new charges.”
Based on court records, the Sanpete Major Crimes Task Force continued looking into the couple’s activities after Cynthia Lemon’s first arrest. The task force obtained a search warrant for both their vehicle and their camp trailer, which was parked between Manti and Ephraim on the far west side of the Sanpete Valley on public land.
On March 25, Det. Taysom and Deputy Jordan Garff spotted the vehicle and pulled the Lemons over at about 250 N. Main St. in Manti. Deputy Breezy Anderson also arrived and assisted in searching the Lemon vehicle.
In his PC statement, Taysom said he found a crystal-like substance and a black substance in a container in Alan’s jacket. A field test showed the substances to be methamphetamine and heroin. Taysom also reported finding a pipe in the driver’s side door and other paraphernalia in the area where Alan Lemon had been sitting.
Deputy Garff found a crystal-like substance in Cynthia’s jacket pocket. A test showed it, too, was methamphetamine.
In interviews at the scene, Cynthia admitted she and her husband were selling controlled substances in Sanpete County and said if she were tested, meth would be found in her body, the PC statement said. Alan said he had used meth earlier that day.
A further search was conducted at the camp trailer, aided by a K-9 from the Utah Department of Corrections. That search yielded more drugs. Officers also found a .22-caliber revolver in an overhead storage area above a bed. That was what led to the weapons charges.
