Posted 8:36 am Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thousands Of Pills Confiscated During Jacksonville Bust Of Fugitive
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
JACKSONVILLE –Thousands of pills found during the apprehension of a fugitive from Missouri have been confiscated by Jacksonville Police after they kicked in the door of a church to arrest the man.
Staff Writer
JACKSONVILLE –Thousands of pills found during the apprehension of a fugitive from Missouri have been confiscated by Jacksonville Police after they kicked in the door of a church to arrest the man.
John Page, Jacksonville assistant police chief, said his agency arrested David George Baugh, 64, of St. Louis, on the felony parole warrant Thursday evening after receiving information he was wanted.
“We got some information that he might be wanted out of Missouri so a detective got in touch with his parole officer and confirmed the warrant,” he said.
Page said his department has been keeping tabs on the church and Baugh since the man was arrested last month after failing to provide information to officers.
Page said Baugh claimed he was not under United States laws due to his affiliation with the Church of Israel.
During the earlier arrest, police apprehended Steven Lee Jackson, 49, who is also from Missouri. Jackson was wanted on federal warrants stemming from a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives’ case.
Page said officers went to the church Thursday and saw a man they believed to be Baugh in the church, but no one would answer the door.
“We went and got a search warrant and went back and knocked on the door. We ended up gaining entry by kicking in the door,” he said. “We gave them every opportunity to open up and said we had a warrant.”
Once inside, Page said officers found thousands of prescription pills in bottles labeled house of Israel and Republic of Texas.
“He had been repackaging them. There could be others involved, but that is still under investigation at this time,” he said.
Page said the drugs ranged from antibiotics to narcotics.
He added he did not know where the drugs came from, but they were working to see if they came from a man who had practiced dentistry without a license in the same building.
“We are checking to see if these are drugs that (the man) prescribed when he was practicing dentistry without a license,” he said. “We are still checking some things.”
Page did not know if the church was affiliated with the Republic of Texas or any other group, but did say there were propaganda pamphlets found in the church.
“We found rhetoric papers in the church during our search that basically said all peace officers are Road Nazis and all reporters work for the Dim Wit Babble Corporation,” he said.
Page said additional arrests could be made in the case and the investigation was continuing.
