Two Crane Residents Facing Drug Charges After Raid On Home:

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Dianne and Rod Gipson (mug shots SCSO)

Drug charges have been filed against a Crane couple after a raid on their home at 301 West Maude Avenue last week.

Authorities say that Dianne and Rod Gipson had been watching them on video surveillance and did not answer the door when they attempted to serve the search warrant.

When cops entered the residence, they found Rodney Duncan Gipson, 48, sitting in a chair.  His his wife and a loaded weapon were nearby.  Morphine pills, several bent spoons, syringes and straws were found in a brown leather pouch near where Rod Gipson had been sitting.  Additional morphine, syringes and straws were found in a locked safe, according to the probable cause statement.

The weapon that was recovered had been altered, according to those documents.

 When authorities searched a car Rod Gipson was a passenger in in February, they found drugs that allegedly field tested positive for methamphetamine.  Gipson, also had three syringes in his shoe.  A glass pipe, and several varying kinds of prescription medication were found in his pockets, according to court records.

Dianne Gipson had been a longtime Head Start teacher in Crane until recently. 

A mother of one of the students Dianne taught, who wishes to remain anonymous said,  "I wonder if the kids she was teaching were exposed to the substance on her clothes while at the school."

Rod Gipson, who is also facing four counts of possession of a controlled substance connected to the arrest in February, was released from jail before bonding information and charges were filed. Crane police chief John Elmore says authorities are actively searching for Gipson because there is a warrant out for his arrest.  

Dianne Marie Gipson, 46, was released on October 29th after posting $15,000 bond.

"It was a combined effort by several agencies that made this bust successful," said Elmore. " I want to thank Sheriff Rader and COMET for their help. Folks need to now that if you're a drug user or dealer in Crane, you will eventually be caught and put in jail."

Elmore encourages anyone with information on Rod Gipson's whereabouts to contact the Crane police department at 417-723-5500 or 9-1-1.


****Note---Charges connected to Rod Gipson's February arrest weren't filed until April of 2013.