Olney residents arrested on new charges in Graham

An Olney man and woman arrested in 2022 on drug and burglary charges went back to Young County Jail on Sept. 10 for methamphetamine possession and violating bond conditions, Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck said.

Alton Everett Smith III, 35, and Traci Gene Willoughby, 36, were arrested in Graham during a traffic stop when police allegedly found the drugs in their car. The two are waiting to be tried on charges of burglary of a habitation, he said.

Ms. Willoughby was jailed in lieu of $15,000 bond and charged with possession of a controlled substance, jail records show. Mr. Smith was jailed in lieu of $90,000 bond on burglary and possession of a controlled substance, jail records show.

“Traci and Alton got picked up in Graham on multiple curfew violations that [bond supervision officer] Cliff Blackstock got a warrant for,” Chief Birbeck told the City Council at its Sept. 11 meeting. “Nothing good happens in Olney, Texas after 10 o’clock so most of the bond conditions say 9 p.m. It is a measure to hold people accountable and make sure they are not up to stuff they are not supposed to be doing.”

Mr. Smith and Ms.Willoughby were arrested on March 16, 2022 after Olney Police received a complaint about water theft and discovered a water hose leading from a 1007 W. Payne St. into the backyard of 1005 W Payne, according to a police report.

Police followed the hose and found that it led into a window of 1005 W. Payne St., the report said. Police obtained a search warrant to confirm that the water hose was being used for the theft of water, Chief Birbeck said.

While attempting to locate the end of the water hose inside the home, police saw “a glass pipe and water bong commonly used to ingest methamphetamine…. in plain sight” on a dresser in the bedroom, the report said. Mr. Smith stated the pipe belonged to him and Ms. Willoughby.