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Updated: 9:06 PM Oct 3, 2011
Career Criminal Busted Again for Drugs
A Washington County man considered a career criminal in Washington and Bay Counties was back behind bars Monday after deputies busted him for meth and other drugs.
Posted: 5:26 PM Oct 3, 2011Reporter: Bryan Anderson Email Address: Bryan.Anderson@wjhg.com  Washington County Meth |
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3 Comments 
Chipley- Washington County resident Joseph Roland Mason is no stranger to the law. Since 2009, the Bay County Sheriff's Office has busted him six times for methamphetamines and other drugs, and Monday's incident made it twice in Washington County.
Deputies said they arrested Mason and his girlfriend, Christina Dean, 35 years old, just after 1:00 a.m. for a broken tail light. But further questioning and a k-9 search of the vehicle turned up much more.
"This gentleman in his possession last night had MSM, which is a known chemical used to cut the product (meth) with," said Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock.
While Mason and his girlfriend sat in the Washington County Jail Monday waiting to make their first appearances Tuesday, Sheriff Haddock said their arrests are part of a much bigger problem.
"This is a battle we're constantly fighting," said Sheriff Haddock.
The Sheriff and his team have made several meth and other drug-related busts just in the last few months, some being repeat offenders, and Sheriff Haddock said he doesn't see that changing anytime soon.
"You can't just lock everybody up and throw away the key. It's going to take reaching out and trying to rehab or giving people help that deserve the help," said Sheriff Haddock.
Mason is currently serving a five year probation in Bay County from drug charges back in 2009.
Latest Comments
Hmm how many of teh "busts" were convictions? How many were felony convictions? I guess the old 3 strikes your out is still in effect? The 3 strikes unfortunatly have to be felony convictions not just arrests.
Career criminal? How does one become a career criminal? This individual has been “busted six times!” We must conclude our criminal justice system is an enabler! It must not be the cops! Remember they have busted this person six times and we are now reading about number seven! This narrows it down to our court system and we all know what a well oiled machine that is! So, let’s review the facts: 1. This ONE individual has been arrested 7 times! 2. Apparently one of the seven led to a conviction because we are told “Mason is currently serving a five year probation in Bay County from drug charges back in 2009.” 3. It took law enforcement two years to apprehend this “career (not master) criminal” the seventh time. The most disturbing part for me is the statement made by the Sheriff himself, "You can't just lock everybody up and throw away the key. It's going to take reaching out and trying to rehab or giving people help that deserve the help." For the sake of discussion let us accept this as a “reasonable” statement but it does prompt the question: What is the “magic number” of arrests when a career criminal is deemed beyond rehab and the zero tolerance we hear about so often kicks in?
So is meth illegal or not? If this guy keeps getting "busted" but is out on the streets does this mean he just has a good defense attorney or does the state just have lazy prosecutors? Career criminals should be locked up away from the public because they will keep committing crimes, especially when they are not getting real sentences when they are arrested.
