By Samantha Smith
Two Bear Creek residents were arrested Thursday and charged with multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance and money laundering.
The Hays County Narcotics Taskforce executed an arrest warrant for Steve Wayne Lee, 50, and Tara Renee Hankey, 46, of Bear Creek in Hays County.
Lee was booked into the Hays County Jail Thursday and was released Friday on $60,000. Hankey was booked into the Hays County Jail Thursday and released on Saturday on $97,000 bond.
Lee faces two state jail felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, a felony possession of marijuana charge and a state jail felony charge of money laundering.
Hankey faces 10 charges of possession of a controlled substance, a possession of marijuana charge and a charge of money laundering. Seven of her charges are felonies.
Narcotics Taskforce director Wade Parham said they had been investigating the case since November 2015.
According to an arrest affidavit, the Narcotics Taskforce during execution of the warrant found numerous illicit substances in the home as well as an “elaborate marijuana grow” located on the premises.
Parham said 250 marijuana plants were seized from the home.
In a post-Miranda interview, Hankey claimed ownership of the drugs and admitted to making a profit of $5,000 a month off of her marijuana grow, which the taskforce weighed at between 5 and 50 pounds.
Harris also found currency valued between $2,500-$30,000 during the search, which earned the couple a money laundering charge since they were “knowingly in the possession of the proceeds of criminal activity.”
Hankey was charged with several more counts of possession of a controlled substance due to the taskforce finding a plethora of narcotics such as Ecstasy, Xanex, Diazepam, Adderall, Oxycodone, psychedelic mushrooms and morphine.
At this time, officials have not released any further details about the case.
