VINITA - A Craig County drug task force serving a search warrant late Monday seized about $277,000 in cash from the home of a 73-year-old woman, Craig County Sheriff Jimmie Sooter said.
Darlene Mayes was booked into the county jail about 11:45 p.m. on complaints that included possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and maintaining a dwelling where drugs are.
She didnt say much, Sooter said of Mayes, a retired Department of Human Services worker. She said the money was hers, that it was for retirement. Of course, once we got into it, it was pretty obvious it wasnt hers.
The task force served the warrant at a residence about six miles east of Vinita on U.S. 60, Sooter said. Recovered from the home were four pounds of marijuana, two pistols and $221,550 in cash found in a sack with the drugs, Sooter said. Another $53,020 was located in the back seat of a vehicle, and Mayes also had a substantial amount of cash on her person, the sheriff said.
The task force, made up of members of the Sheriffs Office, Vinita Police Department and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, had been gathering information for a search warrant for about five months, Sooter said.
Mayes had no criminal history, he said.
