When officers executed a search warrant at a residence in eastern Greene County in late May, one man was arrested and they seized over 1000 grams of methamphetamine plus quantities of cocaine and heroin.

Fay Frederick Russell, Jr., 49, rural Bloomfield, was arrested by Indiana State Police Trooper Caleb Garvin on Thursday night, May 27.

Personnel from the Indiana State Police and the Bloomington Drug Task Force arrived at a residence at 1670 North Lawrence Hollow Drive around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, to execute a search warrant that was issued earlier in the day by Judge Erik Allen of Greene Circuit Court.

When they arrived, Fay Frederick Russell, Jr., was standing in the doorway and was immediately detained. Russell was the only person on the property at the time.

ISP Detective Jason Kempf, the lead investigator, shared details about the residence in a probable cause affidavit, saying that inside the front door, there was an open area with a kitchen on one side and a family room on another, with no furniture in these rooms other than one folding outdoor chair. A back bedroom had miscellaneous items stacked up, there was a bathroom, and another bedroom contained only a few tools. A television mounted on the wall of the family room displayed ten separate live surveillance camera feeds from around the exterior of the property.

Det. Kempf reported that during the search, two unopened FedEx parcels were found in the dishwasher in the kitchen. Both were addressed to Fay Russell, one from a woman in Fresno, Calif., the other from Chris Wrought on East Shady Meadow, Solsberry.

One parcel contained approximately 232 grams of methamphetamine and 63 grams of cocaine. The other contained 907 grams of methamphetamine and 178 grams of heroin.

They also found a piece of aluminum foil in the kitchen that contained 1.5 grams of meth.

All drugs were later field-tested.

In the bathroom closet, they found the hard drive for the surveillance cameras – it was also seized for evidence as well as other items that showed Russell and Wrought were using the residence to receive mail.

After Russell was transported to the sheriff’s department, he was interviewed by Det. Kempf and US DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Special Agent Kevin Ruffner.

Russell allegedly said Wrought is his half-brother who was gone visiting a friend but called three days earlier to tell Russell to watch for a package which he was to take in but not open. Russell said he didn’t know what was in the packages and he didn’t open them but just put them in the dishwasher.

Russell said he works on things around the property and Wrought pays him with methamphetamine but he sometimes buys meth from Wrought.

Russell also said he moved to Greene County from Fresno a couple of months earlier and his half-brother moved here about a year ago. Russell allegedly said he believed his half-brother was dealing with a Mexican cartel in California in the past.

Russell was booked into the Greene County Jail at 7:24 p.m. He was first held without bond pending court appearance.

When Russell appeared in Greene Superior Court last week, he was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, for the 1.5 grams of meth found in the kitchen.

His bond was set at $8,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of late today, Thursday, June 10, Russell has not posted bond and remains in custody.

Since Russell’s arrest, there have been other arrests with connections to this case – to be covered in upcoming stories.