A local couple found with a deadly mixture of heroin, fentanyl and meth has reached a plea deal that could involve no jail time.
Holly A. May, 39, and Jesse C. May, 38, appeared in Circuit Court where they pled guilty to possessing the illegal substances.
Holly pled guilty to one count of simple possession of heroin and one count of simple possession of fentanyl. Jesse pled guilty to simple possession of meth.
Both were sentenced to serve 11 months and 29 days on probation, while Jesse must also complete 30 days in jail, or rehab, by May 11. Simple possession of meth carries a mandatory statute of 30 days, which Jesse may serve in either inpatient drug treatment or jail.
“Meth is really the only substance that has a mandatory amount of time,” says District Attorney General Lisa Zavogiannis. “The time is 30 days in jail or a rehab facility, which just changed a couple of years ago.”
The sentencing comes after the two were pulled over in May 2019 by K-9 deputy Jared Jacobs and K-9 Ozzy was deployed to perform a free air sniff of the vehicle resulting in a positive indication of narcotics.
The traffic stop occurred when Jacobs observed the pair acting suspiciously and discovered the tag to be expired. Jacobs was unable to pull the vehicle over due to becoming caught in traffic and relayed the information to deputy Brystol Davis.
Upon pulling the couple over, the arrest warrant states Davis found the pair to be acting extremely nervous and showed numerous signs of illicit behavior.
When consent was denied to search the vehicle, K-9 Ozzy was deployed and Jacobs advised a positive indication of illegal substances being in the car resulting in a search upon several narcotics being discovered.
Holly claimed possession of the .25 to .5 grams of heroin. Jesse’s backpack revealed approximately .5 to 1 gram of meth and 18 oxycodone tablets. However, the oxycodone tablets were determined to be Jesse’s prescription.
According to the warrant, the two were arrested and taken to Warren County Jail where a search of Jesse’s person revealed less than .5 grams of what was believed to be cocaine until test results from the TBI Crime Lab came back to reveal the substance to be fentanyl.
“The amount of fentanyl was very small,” says Zavogiannis. “We all know a very small amount is dangerous, but the amount in this charge was not quantifiable by the TBI. I think we should have a mandatory sentence for fentanyl because I believe it’s one of the most dangerous substances we have, but we have to stick with the law that it’s a misdemeanor.”
According to USA Today, there’s a reason the CDC calls fentanyl the deadliest drug in America, and is responsible for more deaths than any other drug. Ingesting as little as 0.25 mg can be fatal. There are 1,000 milligrams in one gram.
Furthermore, the TBI states the heroin influx in Tennessee could pose an even bigger problem, with more deadly repercussions, because the drug is sometimes laced with fentanyl. Pure fentanyl is so deadly it can prove fatal if simply absorbed through the skin.
