News Editor
A Blountstown man is facing meth and battery charges after a case worker from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) paid a home visit and discovered suspicious activity.Christopher Ryan Johnson, 28, has been charged with trafficking in methamphetamine over 28 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as battery on a DCF investigator. Also arrested was Luetta Ashley Deal, 20, charged with obstruction for allegedly screaming excessively when investigators were working the case.
According to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Cpl. Eddie Dalton and Dep. Jody Hoagland were dispatched to a home at 16548 NE Clemmons Road where a DCF investigator was making a visit and suspected the occupants of the home were destroying a meth lab. While en route, dispatch reported hearing people in the background screaming at the DCF investigator.
Upon entering the home, Cpl. Dalton and Dep. Hoagland immediately smelled a strong chemical odor consistent with an active meth lab. DCF Inv. Barbara Bodiford, who is also a sworn law enforcement officer in Marianna, advised three plastic bottles containing clear liquids believed to be meth were on the counter when she arrived. She said Johnson grabbed them, ran past her and hit her with his shoulder, nearly causing her to fall as he fled outside the home.
Inv. Mark Mallory soon arrived with a search warrant and Major Roman Wood joined him, Hoagland and Dalton in searching the property. A warm bottle containing a bi-layer liquid believed to be meth oil was found in the yard, along with several stripped lithium batteries. Inv. Bodiford identified the bottle as one Johnson was running with when he ran outside. Also found inside the home were a marijuana bong, grinder and seeds, along with a meth pipe.
During the investigation, as DCF Inv. Bodiford was attempting to speak with a woman in the home who was the reason for her visit, Deal approached and told the woman she did not have to do anything Bodiford requested. Dep. Hoagland and Cpl. Dalton told her numerous times she did have to do what Bodiford asked as there was an ongoing investigation involving children. Later, when Johnson was being taken into custody, Deal yelled and refused to step back as Dep. Hoagland instructed. She was taken into custody on obstruction charges.
Johnson remains behind bars on a $12,000 bond. Deal is held on a $1000 bond, as well as an outstanding warrant for petit theft from Duval County.