The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested two more suspects in Operation Pill Sweep, an undercover operation aimed at cleaning up illegal prescription medication from the county.
Ryan Joseph Hornbeck, of 4585 Woodside Circle, Old Hickory, Tenn., was arrested and charged with two counts of felony selling/delivering a schedule VI controlled substance and two counts of felony maintaining a vehicle/dwelling/place for a controlled substance, according to Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill.
Also arrested in the operation was Joell Franks, of 221 Fish Hook Lane, Mill Spring, who was arrested and charged with selling/delivering a schedule IV controlled substance, or “Xanax,” according to police reports.
The arrest were made as part of a nine-month operation conducted by the sheriff’s office with assistance from the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the U.S. Veteran’s Affairs Office and the sheriff’s offices of Buncombe County and Spartanburg County, S.C.
Arrests began being made in May as a result of the investigation, during which the sheriff’s office purchased an estimated 2,000 illegal prescription pills from several suspects.
Hill said he had warrants for more than 20 individuals, most from within Polk County, from all walks of life.
Hill said charges filed during the operation have been related to many illegal substances in addition to illegal prescription medications, including cocaine, heroin, opium and marijuana.
A couple of suspects have also been charged with child abuse, because illegal transactions were conducted in the presence of children, according to Hill.
Franks was released from jail on a written promise to appear in court. Hornbeck was given a $25,000 bond.