Milwaukee undercover drug bust, 3 charged appear in court
Undercover drug bust, 3 charged appear in court
Three people charged in an undercover drug bust, including a since-suspended Milwaukee County courts official, appeared in court on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
MILWAUKEE - The attorney for a since-suspended Milwaukee County courts official, charged in connection with a drug investigation involving her husband and his son, called the decision to charge his client a "travesty."
Three people charged
What we know:
Samotria Matthews, 54, is charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place, party to a crime.
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Her husband, Rodney Matthews, 54, is also charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place, as well as cocaine and fentanyl possession with intent to distribute, felony firearm possession, recklessly endangering safety, fleeing or eluding an officer, harboring or aiding a felon, and misdemeanor bail jumping.
Terrion Matthews, 26, is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, maintaining a drug trafficking place, and recklessly endangering safety.
All three defendants appeared in court Tuesday afternoon. Rodney and Terrion Matthews remain in custody on $75,000 bond. Samotria Matthews appeared in court, out of custody, and had her bond set at $2,500.
What they're saying:
Samotria Matthews has worked for the county for more than 30 years, most recently as a clerk of courts senior administrator. A county spokesperson said over the weekend she’s since been suspended.
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"The decision to arrest and prosecute Samotria Matthews is a travesty," Joshua Uller, Samotria Matthews' attorney, said in an email to FOX6. "She is not a criminal or drug dealer. She is innocent of this charge and will be vindicated. The complaint makes it clear: there is no evidence that she had any knowledge of her estranged husband’s activities, much less that she was involved in them. Despite that, the District Attorney’s office decided to charge her, destroying her career and reputation in the process."
What's next:
The three defendants are due back in court next week.
Undercover drug investigation
The backstory:
Court filings said police were doing undercover surveillance of a home owned by Samotria Matthews near 46th and Congress, in connection to a narcotics investigation involving Rodney and Terrion Matthews.
"They attempt to pull (Terrion Matthews) over, he flees at a high rate of speed. They lose him. He abandons the car," said Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Martin McLemore.
At the time, Terrion Matthews was out of prison on GPS monitoring. Filings said police got his last known location from the Department of Corrections, in the area of 66th and Ruby, where the car was later found.
Milwaukee undercover drug bust, court employee among 3 charged
A high-ranking Milwaukee County employee is one of three people arrested and charged as part of an undercover drug bust.
"Officers watching that house then see co-defendant Rodney (Matthews) leave the house. They follow him, he goes and picks up this defendant, they then flee."
The second pursuit, a high-speed chase at speeds upwards of 100 mph, eventually ended in a crash at Green Bay and Hampton.
Inside the home, owned by Samotria Matthews, police found around three pounds of fentanyl, cocaine, hydraulic presses to form bricks of drugs, blenders covered in fentanyl residue, digital scales, a handgun, food dye, substances used to cut drugs, and sandwich bags, according to court filings.
The Source: FOX6 News was in court and referenced information from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and statements from attorneys and officials.