Bucyrus drug bust results in 2 arrests and recovery of 'large' amount of drugs

The ongoing war on drugs has taken a toll on police Chief David Koepke.

"We are just sick and tired of the drug epidemic," he said.

Koepke made the comment following a Thursday morning drug raid at 1111 Willard St. Authorities reported finding a "large" amount of suspected cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription narcotics, criminal tools, guns, and other weapons.

Jason Conn, 46, and Lisa Conn, 42, were arrested on warrants pending additional charges.

"We were watching the place very closely," Koepke said. "There had been a lot of activity in that area. We had evidence of drug trafficking and pursued it."

With the arrests, the police chief predicted a number of people won't know where to get their next fix.

"This place was so busy that I know there are people looking for an alternative location," Koepke said.

He added he is familiar with the Conns.

"These people were not drug cartel traffickers," Koepke said. "They were living in despair."

Koepke described the drug operation.

"People were trading items," he said. "It wasn't strictly cash for drugs."

He said authorities recovered vehicle parts, home appliances, TVs, weapons and miscellaneous tools. They even found a "Chucky" doll from the "Child's Play" movie franchise.

The house at 1111 Willard St. was filled with suspected stolen property.

Authorities remained on the scene hours after the raid.

"There was so much property that needs to be reviewed for ownership," Koepke said. "You could hardly walk through the place because there was so much stuff in it."

Assisting with Thursday's raid were the Crawford County Special Response Team, the METRICH Enforcement Unit, the Crawford County Sheriff's Office and the Galion Police Department.

Koepke said resources are available locally for people struggling with addiction. He wishes more would take advantage of the opportunity.

Bucyrus is part of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) and the Heroin Opioid Prevention Effort (HOPE).

The chief said people who want to quit can bring their drugs and paraphernalia to the department with them for disposal. Addicts will be paired with trained recovery coaches.

"We're not going to give up. We're also not going to keep doing the same thing over and over," Koepke said.

Originally published in the News Journal on November 8, 2018.