Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith announced a major arrest connected to the largest meth seizure in county history—an operation that has intensified efforts to dismantle a broader drug network.
On July 1, deputies arrested Mark L. Tatum, a 48-year-old resident of Stuart, who was found in possession of seven pounds of suspected methamphetamine and three ounces of cocaine laced with fentanyl.
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Tatum was out on bond from an April charge involving felony eluding of law enforcement and had an ankle monitor. First Sergeant Barry Vipperman, who oversees the county’s electronic monitoring program, discovered Tatum was over 150 miles beyond county limit, and called attention to the violation.
Investigator Oscar Tejeda, part of Patrick County’s narcotics unit, swiftly coordinated with Virginia State Police narcotics agents to track Tatum’s movements.
“Because of Tatum’s history of reckless eluding, we had assembled a takedown team consisting of deputies, troopers and a K9 unit from the Martinsville Police Department to ensure that he would be removed from the highway if he attempted to try and flee again,” said Sheriff Smith.
Tatum was stopped on Via’s Orchard Road, near U.S. Route 58, and taken into custody without incident.
According to Smith, the drugs seized during Tatum’s takedown have an estimated street value of $200,000. With users generally purchasing 1 -3 gram of meth, Tatum was caught with enough to serve 3,000 addicts, the sheriff pointed out.
“We’ve long suspected Tatum of being a major supplier to other dealers in the region,” Smith said. “More of his allies will fall as we methodically dismantle this criminal network.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are now involved in the investigation. And Smith said Tatum will face federal charges in this case.
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