Feds Bring Down Hammer on Lufkin Meth Trade

In two distinct actions, federal authorities have indicted 17 East Texans on over 200 counts of crimes related to the crystal methamphetamine trade in and around Lufkin. You just might be hearing this song all over town this week:

In the first action, the Lufkin Daily News has reported that a federal grand jury handed out a total of 149 charges to 13 people after wrapping up an investigation that began in 2008.

Holly Vadelund: Caught in the web

​According to the indictment, the alleged co-conspirators are accused of purchasing
pseudoephedrine from pharmacies at Sam's, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS and then delivering it to motel rooms where it was cooked into meth. The indictment says that the finished product was then delivered to 22 East Texas counties, Harris, Montgomery, Dallas, Tarrant and Galveston among them.

Here's a list of who was taken into custody:

Terry Lee Loving, 25; Louis Ray Loving Jr., 27; Robert Wayne Dillahunty, 40; Holly Linnea Vadelund, 20; Lyndsey Denise Miller, 21; Tiffany Lorelle Stovall, 22; Mandy Nicole Slomba, 21; and Loyd Leon McElreath, 50, all from Lufkin.

Also arrested: Gary Justin Kelley, 26, of Pollok; Laura Fisher Vadelund, 44, of Corrigan (mother of alleged co-conspirator Holly Vadelund); Steven Edward Beam, 25, of Huntington; Amanda Hodges, 25, of Diboll, and Krystal Nicole Slusher, 25 of parts unknown.

Amanda Hodges smiles for the camera

​All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, which could bring five to 40 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5 million. The Loving brothers also are charged with operating a meth den and possessing iodine, which can be classed as a meth component. Those charges could bring them up to 20 years in prison.

We'll have more on the other Federal indictments in another post.