5 Arrested, 2 Sought For Trafficking Crystal Meth In Iredell

IREDELL COUNTY — Five Iredell County residents are facing drug charges and two more are being sought for arrest after a nearly year-long undercover operation unveiled a crystal methamphetamine trafficking network, according to the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

“These individuals are responsible for selling a large amount of methamphetamine in our communities,” Iredell Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a statement Friday. “During the course of this investigation, we purchased a large amount of methamphetamine from this group.”

According to ICSO, the sheriff’s office began the operation in September 2018 after the department received a tip that Statesville resident Bonnie Christine Jackson, 39, was selling methamphetamine. During the course of the operation, undercover officers were able to purchase drugs from Jackson, as well as from William Austin Blankenship, 24, who is listed as a resident of Stony Point.

Undercover drug buys continued through 2019, ICSO said, and included additional suspects, identified as Stephanie Anderson Williams, 35, of Statesville; Ian Kelly Shuemaker, 36, of Mooresville; and Vincent Cornelius Jones, 37, of Statesville. In early June, two additional suspects were found in possession of about 70 grams of crystal meth, according to ICSO. They were identified as Breanna Frances Oliver, 33, of Mooresville and Jerry Lee Lippard III, 38, of Statesville.

“Information obtained from these individual investigations was compiled, once narcotics investigators began to see similar names, and other information in intelligence, and surveillance reports,” ICSO said in a statement. After analyzing the evidence, investigators sought felony arrest warrants for all seven suspects.

On Aug. 21, deputies located and arrested five suspects — Jackson, Blankenship, Williams, Oliver and Lippard — on the charge of felony conspiracy to sell methamphetamine.

Shuemaker and Jones, who are both wanted on warrants for similar charges, are now considered Wanted Persons in Iredell County, the sheriff’s office said.

ICSO said that anyone who knows the whereabouts of Shuemaker or Jones is asked to call the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office at 704-878-3100 or call 911.