NCSO News

The Nolan County Sheriff’s Office is alerting the community that a “Jury Duty” phone scam is taking place. In the last several days, members of from surrounding counties and Sweetwater have alerted law enforcement of the scam.

It was reported that the scammer identifies himself as a member of a law enforcement agency, and notifies the victim that they missed jury duty. The scammer then tells the victim that an arrest warrant has been issued for their arrest. The victim will then be notified, to avoid arrest, funds would need to be added to a Green Dot prepaid card and the number on the back of the card would need to be forwarded to him. During the time of processing, the scammer attempts to keep the victim on the line; and once the transaction is complete, the scammer will end the call.

It has also been reported that during some of the phone calls, the scammer has given the names of local officials, which may further confuse some potential victims. We cannot emphasize enough that absolutely no one from the sheriff’s office or police department will ever call to solicit the payment of fines or fees on behalf of the court, or for any other reason.

Avoid being a victim:
– Courts and law enforcement do not contact you regarding jury duty, over the phone.
– Courts and law enforcement will not ask you to provide personal information over the phone.
– Courts and law enforcement will not collect any fees over the phone for missing jury duty, and certainly not instruct you to purchase any sort of gift card as the method of payment.

Nolan County Sheriff David Warren wants citizens to be aware that the person(s) involved in these scams can be very convincing, and is urging anyone who is contacted to treat any unsolicited caller who requests payment or access to personally identifiable information with extreme skepticism, regardless of who the caller claims to represent. When in doubt simply hang up, or get the caller’s name, hang up, and then call the business or government entity back at a phone number you know to be correct.

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016, at approximately 1:00AM, a Nolan County deputy located a white van that was parked at a church in the 500 block of Locust. Contact was then made with the occupants, Richey Dean Fulfer who was accompanied by Hannah Santee-Gallegos, both of Abilene, Texas.

During a roadside investigation, the deputy detected indicators of criminal activity that subsequently lead to the discovery of suspected heroin and paraphernalia used its consumption.

The deputy was assisted by Sweetwater Police who arrived on scene when Mr. Fulfer and Ms. Gallegos were placed under arrest. Both subjects were transported to the Nolan County jail where they were charged with the felony offense of possession of a controlled substance. This case will be filed with the 32nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

On Monday, December 12, 2016, at approximately 10:25AM, a Nolan County deputy stopped a white SUV, in the 1200 block of Lubbock Street for a minor traffic violation. Nolan County Constable Stephen Smith assisted in the traffic stop where contact was made with the driver, who was accompanied by passenger Nicholas Bryan Haley, of Sweetwater.

During a roadside investigation, the deputy detected indicators of criminal activity that lead to the discovery of paraphernalia used in the distribution of methamphetamine. Constable Smith assisted the deputy in the investigation that then lead to the discovery of suspected methamphetamine.

Mr. Haley was placed under arrest and transported to the Nolan County jail where he was charged with the felony offense of manufacture or delivery of controlled substance. This case will be filed with the 32nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016, at 12:15PM, numerous law enforcement officers converged at a house in Sweetwater addressed as 1006 Oak Street. The high risk search warrant was the result of a joint investigation between Nolan County Sheriff’s Office, 32nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office – Criminal Investigators, Nolan County Constable’s Office, and Texas State Technical College Police Department.

The execution of the actual raid was a combined effort involving approximately thirteen officers from the agencies represented above. The criminal investigation was first initiated by NCSO Deputy Gary Clark and then he was assisted by Sgt. James Villanueva with the Sheriff’s Office. “I am very proud of my staff for working so hard on this growing problem.” said Warren.

A very significant amount of suspected methamphetamine, crack cocaine and heroin was seized along with a small quantity of marihuana, several guns, thousands of dollars in cash and many other packaging and sale related items. “This was a prolific dealing operation here in Nolan County.” said Sheriff David Warren.

“We appreciate the people in this area of Sweetwater for being patient with us while we conducted our investigation and built our case. I know that sometimes citizens feel that these operations take a long time. We (law enforcement) also feel the same way at times, but we must gather as much evidence as possible, make the very best case we can and then hope for the strictest punishment that we can obtain for these drug dealers.” Warren emphasized.

A total of three people were arrested Tuesday out of the residence, but the investigation is ongoing and there will likely be other arrests in the future.

Those arrested Tuesday were:

1. Lewis Junior Perry, age 46, of 1006 Oak St., Sweetwater.

• Perry is charged with Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony, with bond set at $60,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (heroin) – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony, with bond set at $60,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (cocaine) – Penalty Group 1, 3rd Degree Felony, with bond set at $20,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony active warrant out of Howard County, with bond set at $50,000.00
• Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor, bond set at $1,500.00.
• Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, 3rd Degree Felony, bond set at $20,000.00
• Parole Violation Warrant, no bond, from the Texas Department of Pardons and Parole.

2. Jessy Jane Dauel, age 18, of Sweetwater.

• Jessy Dauel is charged with Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony, with bond set at $60,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (heroin) – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony, with bond set at $60,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (cocaine) – Penalty Group 1, 3rd Degree Felony, with bond set at $20,000.00
• Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor, bond set at $1,500.00.

3. Josey Jean Dauel, age 21, white female, of Sweetwater.

• Josey Dauel is charged with Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony, with bond set at $60,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (heroin) – Penalty Group 1, 1st Degree Felony, with bond set at $60,000.00
• Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (cocaine) – Penalty Group 1, 3rd Degree Felony, with bond set at $20,000.00
• Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor, bond set at $1,500.00.

Sheriff Warren emphasized, “I truly appreciate all of those citizens that helped by supplying information on these drug dealers. This is a great example of how it should work; citizens and law enforcement working closely together to get rid of a problem.”