Metro Fugitive Task Force arrests Richardson County meth suspect

FALLS CITY – The Richardson County Sheriff’s Office reports an arrest after a quarter pound of methamphetamine was located.

A Facebook post says an investigation following a Dec. 14 incident in Salem led to the arrest of Michael Tinsley. Tinsley is charged in Richardson County with possession of 28 to 139 grams of meth.

The Metro Fugitive Task Force arrested Tinsley on Jan. 4 at a Lincoln hotel room on the Richardson County warrant and an outstanding warrant in Otoe County alleging operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest.

Tinsley faces additional charges in Lancaster County after officers found meth in the pocket of his jeans.

An arrest affidavit says Tinsley told investigators that he has been using meth since the age 28. He reportedly said that he smokes or uses meth intravenously almost daily, but he denied selling narcotics.

The Richardson County affidavit has been sealed by the court.

The Richardson County Attorney’s Office has filed habitual criminal charges alleging that Tinsley was convicted of drug crimes in Douglas County in 2002, 2005 and 2007, convicted of strangulation in Lancaster County in 2001 and convicted in Richardson County in 2014 for possession of burglar tools.

The habitual criminal charge carries a minimum mandatory of 10 years in prison.

In controlled buys in Falls City in 2018, confidential informants paid about $57 per gram of meth. At that rate, the street value of the 131 grams of meth alleged in the Richardson County case would be about $7,400.

The sheriff’s office post offers thanks to the US Marshals Service, the Fugitive Task Force, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Otoe County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance.