LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WMDJ) — A Lawrence County man was arrested last week after a grand jury indicted him on charges of engaging in organized crime and importing fentanyl.
According to court records, Tommy Church, 35, was arrested July 9 after authorities served an indictment warrant issued by Lawrence Circuit Court. He is charged with engaging in organized crime, a Class B felony, and importing fentanyl, a Class C felony. Bail was set at $50,000 cash.
The indictment alleges Church participated in an ongoing fentanyl trafficking operation with Leslie Morgan Triplett and Billy Joe Salmons between July 26 and Sept. 30, 2025. It further alleges Church imported fentanyl into Kentucky while acting alone or in complicity with the two men.
According to the indictment, the organized crime charge stems from allegations that Church knowingly committed or conspired to commit first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance involving fentanyl on a continuing basis as part of the alleged operation.
An indictment is an allegation of criminal conduct, not a conviction. Church is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Church is currently being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville.
