PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg Police made two arrests Monday relating to illegal substances and armed robbery in unrelated cases.
A Parkersburg man was arrested Monday for allegedly having a large number of bath salts in his home, the Parkersburg Police Department reported.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. Monday, officers with the PPD's Street Crime Unit arrested Richard F. Walters near 13th and Juliana streets on a felony charge of possession of MDPV (bath salts) with intent to deliver, said department spokesman Sgt. Greg Collins,
On Sept. 26, officers concluded a lengthy investigation into the 32-year-old which ended with a search warrant at his 2900 25th St. residence.
Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force agents executed the search warrant, allegedly locating several suspected controlled substances, a loaded shotgun and a pistol with a destroyed serial number, among other items.
The most significant discovery was a plastic container with a large amount of suspected bath salts in it, Collins said. Because there is no field test for the suspected bath salts, the substance had to be sent to the West Virginia State Police Crime Lab for analysis.
The crime lab recently provided the results of the examination to the PNTF which indicated a total of approximately 346.48 grams of Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), also known as bath salts, Collins said.
As a result of this finding, a felony warrant was issued by Wood County Magistrate Joyce Purkey for Walters on Friday, with Street Crimes officers locating and arresting Walters on Monday.
"This was a significant drug arrest," Collins said Monday. "Our Street Crimes Unit has been very productive and is working well with the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force and our patrol and detective divisions.
"They are on the front line identifying suspicious activity and trying to catch criminals in the act. They are a flexible, proactive unit designed to attack whatever serious problem has taken priority for that day.''
In an unrelated matter, detectives have arrested a second suspect in an Oct. 28 armed robbery at a West Virginia Avenue home.
Robert Lee McElfresh, 18, of Lynn Street, Parkersburg, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree armed robbery, Collins said.
McElfresh allegedly entered an apartment at 700 West Virginia Ave. and displayed a pistol to the victim demanding money, he said. McElfresh allegedly received an unknown amount of money from the victim before leaving the apartment.
Matthew Edward Depew was also charged in this crime after he was arrested on Friday. Depew was initially arrested for allegedly being in possession of suspected stolen items from the Veterans Museum of the Mid-Ohio Valley.
The armed robbery charge from this separate incident was later added prior to his arraignment, Collins said.
