Kerr County investigators made several arrests during a busy first week of December as part of ongoing efforts to track fugitives and curb drug activity across the region, according to the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division (SOD) first received a tip on December 1 about a wanted man, 45-year-old Eugene Washington Jr. of Kerrville. They located him at an apartment complex on Sunflower in Comfort and watched as he drove to a nearby gas station along US Highway 87. Deputies with the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office moved in and arrested Washington on an outstanding warrant issued by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Two days later, on December 3, investigators followed up on new information about drug sales in Kerr County. The Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped a vehicle driven by 39-year-old Joseph Paul Turnage of Center Point. During the stop, Turnage admitted he had methamphetamine hidden inside a child’s toy. Investigators recovered roughly 19 grams of meth. He was arrested on a charge of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and booked into the Kerr County Jail with bond set at 75,000 dollars.

Later that same day, SOD investigators gathered information about suspected drug activity at a home in the 500 block of Stoneleigh Road. After securing a search warrant, the KCSO Special Response Team entered the residence. Deputies determined that two people inside, 37-year-old Travis Dale Burlew and 53-year-old Noel Dean Pursley, both of Center Point, were in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Both were arrested on possession charges. Pursley was also booked on an outstanding failure to appear warrant. Bond for Burlew was set at 45,000 dollars and bond for Pursley at 35,000 dollars.

The Sheriff’s Office noted that charges may change as the cases move forward and reminded the public that all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Sheriff Larry Leitha praised the steady pace of the investigative work.

“Our investigative team does relentless work throughout Kerr County and collaborates seamlessly with outside agencies,” Leitha said. “Whether securing a fugitive from the justice system or helping those in the drug trade encounter the justice system, the citizens of Kerr County are safer every single day through the work of our investigators and SOD.”