Atkinson arrested 3rd time on firearm charge
A woman suspected of running a drug house in Olney was arrested for a third time in a month for violating her probation and will be held without bail as she waits for her case to be adjudicated, law enforcement officials said.
Adriene Atkinson, 57, was arrested most recently on Nov. 11 on a warrant as she attempted to move out of 305 S. Ave. F, a rental house that has been a focus of Olney Police Department drug interdiction efforts, OPD Chief Dan Birbeck said. She was being held without the possibility of bond in Young County Jail on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, jail records show.
Ms. Atkinson was on deferred adjudication probation on drug charges, meaning that she had to complete a probationary period without violating the law and other conditions set by the district court in order to have the case against her eventually dismissed.
People on deferred adjudication probation are eligible for bond because they technically have not been convicted of a crime. But Ms. Atkinson was arrested twice in the past month for allegedly violating the terms of her probation, and was facing a motion to revoke that deferred adjudication agreement.
“She is subject to a current motion to revoke probation for being a felon in possession of a firearm which is a third-degree felony that carries a potential term of imprisonment from two to 10 years,” Assistant District Attorney Phillip Gregory said. “She is being held on a no-bond on that [charge] because of the motion to revoke.”
Ms. Atkinson had previously been arrested by Olney Police on Oct. 20 and Nov. 3 for possession and manufacturing of drugs. She was jailed in lieu of $30,500 bond after the first arrest, but was released the next day on bond. After her second arrest, she was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bond but released the following day as well.
“Before Adriene got in trouble I had spoken to her about all the information we were getting about her and told her it was just a matter of time before she was arrested,” Chief Birbeck said. “It’s been two years of constantly holding people accountable, and we are finally seeing the fruits of our labor. As the courts open back up, the criminal enterprises are moving away from here because of the constant pressure from law enforcement.”
Chief Birbeck said OPD just shut down two locations that were trafficking in narcotics in Olney, with the result that those involved were leaving town. The department is seeing a reduction in calls from nuisance apartment buildings as a result of a collaboration between police and the builders’ managers, he said. “We just have to keep the pressure up and keep going,” he said.