Police Chief James “Bubba” Brown said Putman was in the process of cooking meth at her residence.
“When I arrived at about 4:30 p.m., she was standing in the yard,” Brown said. “I approached her and advised her of what I was there for and she went ahead and confessed.”
Brown said as they approached the home, he could smell a strong chemical odor.
“When I opened the front door, I had a full view of the den and kitchen and what she had been doing,” he said. “She had already done one cook and was in the process of a second cook. She signed a consent form and we went in to search the home.”
Putman was arrested and taken to the St. Clair County Jail in Ashville. She is charged with manufacturing crystal meth and is being held on a $250,000 bond. She was also charged with possession of a controlled substance and bond was set at $2,500.
Brown said he thought drug business at the Putman residence had ceased because one week earlier, he had arrested Tammy Putman’s husband, William Howard Crowe, on three counts of distributing methamphetamines and one count of felony purchase of pseudoephedrine.
He is being held in the St. Clair County Jail.
The Ragland Police Department and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department worked together on the drug bust.
Mayor Lanis White said the police department is working diligently to do what it can to curb the meth problem.
“I know they will continue to work hard concerning this,” he said. “Just the other day during court, we had a young lady thank us for saving her life and helping her get off crystal meth. We also want to thank Sheriff Terry Surles and the Sheriff’s Department for all they do to help us.”
