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Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Police make arrests in west Medford meth-dealer sting Officers had warrants naming 23 suspected methamphetamine dealers, most of whom operated within 1,000 feet of schools By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune It’s the time of day when many Medford residents set out to work and their kids head off to school. And in the same neighborhoods, druggies sleep off a night of heavy using. Knowing their quarry would be vulnerable at 8 a.m., Medford police set out on a raid Thursday to curb drug sales in west Medford neighborhoods plagued by methamphetamine. "It was at a point where it was becoming pretty flagrant," says Lt. Mike Moran, adding that many alleged sales were taking place within just a few blocks of the police department and in the shadow of west Medford schools. The cops’ first stop is North Ivy Street, where neighbors say they have called police numerous times to complain about the constant drug sales. Advertisement Within a stone’s throw of McLoughlin Middle School, Rachel Ann Saylor and Richard William Schroeder were selling meth from their apartment, police say. Just across a white picket fence, the residence of Kendall Ira Faulkner also was a prime spot to buy a few grams of the white powder, they say. Officers pull Saylor and Schroeder out of the faded two-story house as carpenters arrive to repair rotting stairs in the entry way. Next door, police pull Faulkner into a police car when they notice a bundle of bicycles whose serial numbers have been gouged from the frame. The bikes are later confiscated as evidence. "It was bound to happen. I knew it would," says neighbor Connie Bond. "I was afraid to walk down the street at night." Complaints from west Medford residents sparked an undercover buying effort this fall, police say. Throughout the months of September, October and November, investigators set up sales between 23 suspects and a witness working for the police, Moran says. Detectives watched many of the transactions take place while others were recorded on audio tape, he adds. "It was very easy to do as far as buying meth," says Medford police Lt. Tim George. "If we had wanted to keep going, we could have." Police issued warrants for each of the 23 suspects targeted in Thursday’s sting. All have criminal records, and many carry other outstanding parole and probation violations, police say. A block from where Saylor, Schroeder and Faulkner were arrested, police rouse Johnny "Dread" Stafford from his bed in a Grape Street house as children peer from a passing school bus. Stafford was convicted in August of possessing meth. Across town, a toddler perched in a picture window watches Trixie Cherokee Goff shuffle across East Ninth Street into a patrol car. Just three weeks ago, Goff was convicted of possessing meth. So far this year, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office has filed about 900 drug charges, 85 to 90 percent of which involve meth, says Deputy District Attorney Matt Chancellor. Many defendants receive probation time for possessing the drug, classified among the state’s least serious felonies. But delivering and manufacturing the drug, particularly within 1,000 feet of a school, ranks among Oregon’s most serious criminal offenses. Across the fence from Washington Elementary School, as students scurry inside after recess, officers handcuff Wesley Palmer Flitton outside his home. A month ago, as students were leaving school, Flitton allegedly sold a half-gram of meth from his residence, which is perched on the edge of Washington’s sports field, police say. Flitton is just one of many suspects likely obtaining drugs from a source outside the Rogue Valley, police say. But putting small-scale drug dealers out of business makes a difference one neighborhood at a time, Moran adds. "Our goal is to clean up Medford," Moran says. "To make Medford the least desirable place to sell dope." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Thursday’s drug arrests Medford police Thursday arrested a dozen people out of 23 targeted on suspicion of selling methamphetamine, many within sight of a school. Kendall Ira Faulkner, 43, of the 300 block of North Ivy Street, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .4 gram of meth within 762 feet of McLoughlin Middle School. Rachel Ann Saylor, 26, of the 200 block of North Ivy Street, was arrested on a warrant charging her with selling .64 gram of meth within 955 feet of McLoughlin Middle School. Richard William Schroeder, 38, of the 200 block of North Ivy Street, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .8 gram of meth within 955 feet of McLoughlin Middle School. Johnny "Dread" Stafford, 47, of the 200 block of North Grape Street, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .8 gram of meth within 834 feet of McLoughlin Middle School. Wesley Palmer Flitton, 24, of the 500 block of Hamilton Street, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .3 gram of meth within 30 feet of Washington Elementary School. William Earl Simpson, 42, of the 800 block of Palm Street, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .3 gram of meth within 955 feet of McLoughlin Middle School. Ian Baird Campbell, 24, of the 400 block of Park Avenue, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .47 gram of meth within 867 feet of Sacred Heart Elementary School. Mandron Alfred Colter, 26, of the 800 block of West 13th Street, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .25 gram of meth within 331 feet of Sacred Heart. Franklin Martinez, 48, of the 100 block of Western Avenue, was arrested on a warrant charging him with selling .3 gram of meth within 760 feet of McLoughlin Middle School. Police also arrested Trixie Cherokee Goff, 25, of the 800 block of East Ninth Street; Frank Anthony Saenz, 37, of the 300 block of Tennessee Avenue; Larry Dean Harper, 53, no address listed; on warrants charging them with delivering meth. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary Advertisement s