Timing of Arrest, Unprecendent Access Raise Questions

Yesterday's re-arrest of a former elementary teacher and her husband in connection with methamphetamine trafficking raised several questions not addressed in local coverage of the story.

Lynn Weibel and her husband, Michael, were originally arrested in June of 2005. Tuesday, Sarpy County Sheriff's deputies arrested the couple again - while providing unprecedented access to local news media. Several outlets had pictures or video of the couple exiting their home, an indication that they were notified in advance of the arrest.

Other agencies, like KPTM, had video of the Weibels in the booking area of the Sarpy County Jail - an area rarely afforded access to by photojournalists.

The timing of the arrests came one week to the day before the May 9th primary election - one that pits current Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis against Jerry Brown, a sergeant who has worked in the Sheriff's Office for 21 years. The results of next Tuesday's primary will decide who serves as sheriff for the next four years.

Davis told media outlets Tuesday that police made controlled buys from Michael Weibel three times between November 2005 and March 2006. Yet, the Weibels were not arrested until yesterday morning, when the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office narcotics unit, with assistance from the Bellevue Police Department, showed up at the couple's Bellevue home.