Hanaway's initiative will use Cape office as model

SIKESTON -- When it comes to cooperating to fight methamphetamine, Southeast Missouri is an example to follow.

During a press conference Wednesday at the Clinton building, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway of Missouri's eastern district said the working relationship the U.S. Attorney satellite office at Cape Girardeau office has with local law enforcement will be used as a model for the entire district.

The press conference was held to announce Hanaway's Methamphetamine Initiative for the eastern district and the significant changes in the approach to federal methamphetmine prosecution it brings.

"Methamphetamine has affected a population that wasn't really touched by drugs other than marijuana," Hanaway said. "It has affected rural Missouri like no other drug has."

Traditionally, U.S. attorneys have gone after drug "kingpins" and large distributors, according to Hanaway.

The new policy, which is modeled after the one used by the Cape Girardeau office, is to prosecute smaller cases so they don't grow to be kingpins or large distributors.

The SEMO Drug Task Force and U.S. Attorney's satellite office in Cape Girardeau "have done a splendid job of prosecuting these crimes," according to Hanaway.

Hanaway said she wants to make face-to-face contact with each of the 49 elected county prosecutors in her district to build cooperative relationships on methamphetamine cases to "get drug dealers and manufacturers out of the communities for as long as we can."

The federal-local cooperation in the 17 counties handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell at the Cape Girardeau satellite should be the standard not just here, but across the district and Missouri, she said.

Ferrell said building a relationship with local law enforcement officials has simply been a matter of accepting cases and being responsive, letting local authorities know if he will take a case or not so county prosecutors know whether they need to move forward with it or not.

"There aren't turf battles," she said. "What Larry's doing is he's taking these smaller cases. We want to have that relationship with the other counties we serve."

Hanaway explained policy had been to only take cases involving 25 grams of pure methamphetamine, leaving smaller amounts to local prosecution.

The entire district will now follow Ferrell's lead "and make a federal case out of it," Hanaway quipped, when as little as 5 grams of pure meth is involved.

Under federal law, a defendant convicted for possession of 5 grams of pure methamphetamine gets a mandatory five-year sentence. A prior felony drug conviction can double that five-year minimum to 10 years. Fifty grams of pure meth gets 10 years. "Those are statutory minimums," Hanaway said.

Hanaway said her district will pursue the federal prosecution of meth cases "as vigorously as we possibly can" so those involved with methamphetamine are "removed from communities for as long as possible."

Those serving federal sentences tend to spend more time behind bars, according to Hanaway. "In the federal system, there isn't parole. Five years means five years," she said. "They serve, at the very least, 85 percent of their time."

The possibility of overcrowding the prison system is not a concern, Hanaway said. "The federal penitentiary system is not experiencing the same problems the state penitentiary system is," she said. Federal prisons "can accept anyone we send them."

Hanaway also discussed enhanced penalties which earn more time in federal prison for armed criminals and career criminals, those with prior felony convictions or prior convictions on firearms charges, cases involving more than 5 grams of pure meth, and those who are busted running a lab with children present.

"It gets you more time if you have a gun than if you don't," Ferrell said. He said those who use a firearm in conjunction with a methamphetamine crime get five consecutive years added to their sentence.

The Methamphetamine Initiative also includes a shift in responsibilities for one attorney at the St. Louis office "to dedicate this person entirely to methamphetamine," Hanaway said.

Educational efforts are also included to warn of the risks associated with the drug. "If you try methamphetamine once, you could be addicted for the rest of your life," Hanaway said.

Hanaway said the Drug Enforcement Agency's demand reduction Web site, justthinktwice.com, is an excellent resource for showing teens the risks involved with methamphetamine use. "I think it's going to be a very effective tool," she said.

She said the site includes striking before and after photos for both physical appearances and MRIs "to show what it actually does to your brain."

Other educational efforts include continuing the Weed and Seed program.

The good news is the new state law regarding the purchase of pseudoephedrine "has changed a little bit the dynamics of the methamphetamine trade," Hanaway said. "I don't think there is any question: putting pseudoephedrine behind the counter is effective."

While it is a minor inconvenience for legitimate consumers, inhibiting the potential for meth production makes it worthwhile, she said.

Statewide meth lab busts are down 50 percent, according to Hanaway, although eastern counties haven't had as much of a drop due to manufacturers bringing ingredients in from Illinois.

"That doesn't mean methamphetamine is going away," she said. "Now what we're seeing is importation from other states and even from Mexico."

Hanaway said her office is committed to tracing distributors all the way back to their ultimate sources.