A Sweet Home man was arrested Wednesday, May 10, as the result of a drug-related search warrant carried out by local law enforcement agencies at two residences near Hawthorne School.
At about 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, the Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team and Linn County Interagency SWAT Team, in coordination with the Sweet Home Police Department, executed the drug-related search warrant, at 1190 27th Ave. Law enforcement personnel also searched a nearby residence.
The elementary school, located about a quarter of a mile away, was locked down for two hours during the operation.
Sweet Home police said that “due to the general proximity to the school, types of equipment used for this search warrant, and out of an abundance of caution, we contacted the Hawthorne Elementary School to request that they enter a secure mode during the initial search warrant process.”
“There were no safety issues that resulted from the execution of the search warrant, and no children or school staff encountered anyone related to this process.”
Lt. Buck Pearce of the Albany Police Department, the lead agency for LINE, said investigators seized “quite a bit of drugs” including heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
“They were dealer amounts – substantial quantities,” he said, although he said he could not provide specifics.
Eric Wayne McKnight, 53, of Sweet Home, was arrested on a list of charges: possession/manufacturing/delivering a controlled substance – Schedule 2; manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school; felony possession of heroin; delivery of heroin within 1,000 feet of a school; delivery of heroin; felony possession of methamphetamine; delivery of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school; delivery of methamphetamine; and tampering with evidence.
As of Monday, McKnight remained in Linn County Jail on $200,000 bail.
McKnight was one of four people arrested at the same address on June 24, 2015, following a similar drug search, in which detectives seized methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and $53,360 in cash.
He pled guilty to delivery of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 25 months in prison, three years of probation.