LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — One of the two Laurel men on the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office’s “Most Wanted” list was taken into custody early Thursday morning on an indictment warrant for manufacturing methamphetamine.

Jeffrey Todd McGhee, 48,  was picked up by sheriff’s officials after putting a “Most Wanted” tip out to local media and on Facebook.

According to Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, public affairs officer, an anonymous tip came to sheriff’s officials through a Facebook post and officers acted immediately, resulting in McGhee’s arrest.

Both Jeffrey Todd McGhee and 37-year-old Tab McGhee were wanted for manufacturing methamphetamine last fall. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Tab McGhee is urged to contact the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office at (606) 864-660 or Laurel Dispatch Center at (606) 878-7000. Callers can remain anonymous.

The incident that landed both McGhee’s in jail on Sept. 30 came after a fight with neighbors who complained of the toxic odor of methamphetamine coming from a residence on north U.S. 25. The neighbors did not want the methamphetamine production taking place so closely to their own residences and allegedly confronted the McGhees. That confrontation led to an argument in which Tab McGhee allegedly hit one of the neighbors in the back of the head with an aluminum flashlight. Jeffrey McGhee then reportedly jumped into a truck and tried to run over the second man involved in the dispute, unsuccessfully.

When law enforcement arrived on the scene, Tab McGhee ran away, carrying an active one-step meth lab with him, according to the police report.  The meth lab was located by officers assisting at the scene, along with identification and personal items belonging to McGhee.

Records from the Laurel County Detention Center show Tab McGhee was released from jail on Dec. 10, less than two weeks prior to the indictment. His bond was set at $25,000 cash.

Jeffrey McGhee was released on Dec. 4, after being held under a $50,000 cash bond for charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and first-degree assault.

Kentucky law requires that a person who is incarcerated on a felony offense must be indicted within 60 days of the preliminary hearing in district court. The McGhees exceeded that time frame, having been jailed since Sept. 30 and their preliminary hearings being held in early October. Once the 60-day period is reached without an indictment, the attorneys can file for a motion of release, which occurred in the case of both Jeffrey Todd McGhee and Tab McGhee.



njohnson@sentinel-echo.com