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Mechanic shop meth bust nets three arrests Tommy James Loftis, left, and Verne Eugene Thayer III, each face charges of delivering methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. Tuesday Dec 26, 2017 at 4:14 PM Dec 26, 2017 at 4:24 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat Multi-agency police searches at a Central Point garage and a suspected Medford drug house yielded a stolen gun and resulted in three arrests — including two alleged meth dealers. Verne Eugene Thayer III, 57, and Tommy James Loftis, 39, each face charges of delivering and manufacturing methamphetamine near a school after Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement task force search warrants yielded 38 grams of methamphetamine, a stolen pistol, $8,000 and other signs of commercial drug activity, police said. Thayer and Loftis each remained lodged Tuesday in Jackson County Jail on $500,000 bail, records show. On Thursday morning, MADGE detectives served search warrants at Thayer's auto repair shop in the 100 block of Amy Street in Central Point and a residence in the 2700 block of Connell Avenue in Medford, according to documents filed by MADGE in Jackson County Circuit Court. At the Connell Avenue house and inside Loftis' vehicle, detectives found 26 grams of meth and $8,000 believed to be drug proceeds, according to Medford police Lt. Justin Ivens. Also seized were packaging and scales that had methamphetamine and heroin residue. MADGE detectives searched Thayer's Central Point shop after seeing Loftis there before the search, court documents say. On Thayer's premises, detectives found 12 grams of crystal meth in plastic baggies and a Kimber 1911 handgun. Details as to which suspect was in possession of the stolen gun, along with who originally owned the weapon, remain under investigation, according to Ivens. Court documents said the gun was found behind the seat of a Ford pickup on Thayer's property, but Thayer told police the weapon was Loftis'. The search warrants followed three months of investigation, according to Ivens, though he couldn't say what kicked off the investigation because the case is pending. The shop is within 1,000 feet of Mae Richardson Elementary School, and Loftis' residence was within 1,000 feet of Howard Elementary School. Ivens said it's common for thieves to exchange firearms for drugs. "They're a valued commodity on the street," Ivens said. Loftis faces felony counts of delivering and manufacturing methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school; delivering, manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine and misdemeanor heroin-possession. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 2. He has felony convictions dating back to 1998, and most recently in 2015, court records show. Thayer faces felony charges of delivering and manufacturing methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, along with additional counts of delivering, manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine. He has no prior convictions. A third suspect, Tamara Delaney Stevenson, was arrested at the Connell Avenue location for violating her probation on prior meth- and heroin-possession convictions. She has since been released from Jackson County Jail, records show. Stevenson has felony convictions dating to 2015 and has a pending forgery and identity-theft charges accusing her of forging a car dealership's check last September. — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.