Two Salem suspects in drug arrest

By Pat Burton, LPD Chief of Police

LICKING, Mo. (July 7, 2022) – On July 3, 2022, at approximately 6:50 p.m. Licking officers conducted a traffic stop on a recreational vehicle, along US-63, for a registration violation. The Houston Police Department’s K9 team was requested for assistance and conducted an open-air sniff of the exterior of the vehicle, giving a positive alert for the presence of narcotics.

Officers, including a Texas County Sheriff’s deputy, conducted a search of the vehicle. During the search of the vehicle, officers located and seized numerous items of drug paraphernalia, including multiple marijuana smoking devices and hypodermic syringes. Also located were two baggies of a green plant material, consistent with marijuana, a baggie of a brown fungal material, consistent with psychedelic mushrooms, and two (2) blotter paper strips, suspected of containing LSD.

Two suspects in the vehicle, Zachery P. Melead, age 26, and Crystal D. Reynolds, age 44, both of Salem, Mo., were arrested and transported to the Texas County Jail. Seized items will be sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory for analysis. Probable Cause Statements will be sent to the Texas County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office seeking the following charges for both suspects: Possession of a Controlled Substance – Felony (Count 1), Possession of a Controlled Substance – Felony (Count 2), Possession of Marijuana and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The above information is just mere accusations and is not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of any charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.