Police seize crack cocaine, fentanyl, cash

BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — A woman is in jail after a warrant for a probation violation led police to find drugs and thousands of dollars in her apartment.

Lauren Mikeala Horn, 21, of Williamson, was arrested Jan. 11 for a probation violation. Police say she failed two mandatory drug screenings for a 2022 drug case.

During Horn’s arrest, law enforcement discovered approximately $3,000 in her purse and began a search of her apartment and car. Officers found 5 grams of crack cocaine, 45 grams of suspected fentanyl and $34 cash in Horn’s car. They seized $251 cash from a dresser drawer inside the apartment.

Mingo County Sheriff Joe Smith said the interior of Horn’s vehicle was covered with a fine white dust believed to be cocaine or fentanyl.

“Our deputies take extra precautions with drug searches such as this because there have been officers who accidentally overdosed due to making contact with fentanyl,” Smith said. “It can quickly be absorbed through your skin, and you’re not even aware of what’s happening. The amount of fentanyl Lauren Horn had inside her apartment could have caused multiple deaths. A single gram of the drug can be enough to cause an overdose, depending on the size and weight of the person.”

Samples of the dust were sent to the West Virginia State Police Crime Lab for analysis.

Horn was arraigned before Mingo Magistrate Donald Sansom on charges of probation violation and possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver.

She was remanded to the Southwestern Regional Jail in Holden on a $50,000 bond.

In November, Horn was one of eight people arrested in a Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division drug bust in Mingo County.