PATRICK COUNTY, Va. – A Stuart man was arrested July 1 following the largest methamphetamine seizure ever recorded in Patrick County, Patrick County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Dan Smith announced.
Mark Lucas Tatum, 48, was taken into custody by Patrick County deputies during a covert investigation spanning multiple jurisdictions. Tatum was out on bond after an April arrest for felony eluding law enforcement and was wearing a court-ordered home electronic monitoring GPS ankle bracelet at the time.
Smith said 1st Sgt. Barry Vipperman, who oversees the electronic monitoring program, noticed Tatum had traveled more than 150 miles outside Patrick County, violating the monitoring protocol.
Investigator Oscar Tejeda, assigned to the sheriff’s narcotics unit and leading the investigation, coordinated with Virginia State Police narcotics agents to track Tatum’s movements.
“Because of Tatum’s history of reckless eluding, we assembled a takedown team consisting of deputies, troopers and a K9 unit from the Martinsville Police Department to ensure he would be removed from the highway if he attempted to flee again,” Smith said in a news release Monday.
Tatum’s vehicle was stopped on Via’s Orchard Road near U.S. 58, and he was arrested without incident.
During the arrest, deputies seized more than seven pounds of suspected methamphetamine and three ounces of cocaine mixed with fentanyl. Smith estimated the street value of the drugs at $200,000.
He noted that most users buy methamphetamine in one- to three-gram quantities, meaning the seized drugs could potentially supply more than 3,000 addicts.
“We have believed for some time that Tatum is a major drug supplier to other dealers in this region, and more of his allies will fall as we methodically dismantle this criminal network,” Smith said.
The sheriff praised the cooperation between his deputies and state police narcotics agents during the operation.
Tatum is being held without bond for violating electronic monitoring protocol. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Drug Enforcement Administration are involved, and the case will be prosecuted federally, Smith said.