JPD Chief Reacts To Changes In Community Including Drug Of Choice Amongs Users

JAMESTOWN – As homicide detectives work to solve the murder of 22 year-old Dylan Ownbey, Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings is calling for more community involvement with identifying criminals and more treatment options for addicts struggling to recover. 

Unless witnesses come forward it is very difficult to solve cases, Snellings said.

“We rely on people that are there, see things, because we need them to prosecute cases,” The chief said. “It doesn’t matter what we know, it’s what we can prove.”

As for the rising illegal drug trade, the Chief  said the new “drug of choice” is no longer cocaine or heroin.

“We’re being flooded with meth amphetimines and it’s crystal meth,” Snellings said.

Snellings has long been a supporter of local treatment and the efforts behind it.

“I think we need to do a better job on the treatment side of things,” said Snellings. “Don’t get me wrong, we’ve come leaps and bounds from where we were four years ago but we can always do better.”