KPD officers arrested Casey Austin, 47 of Knoxville, Tennessee, near 418 N. Broadway on Wednesday morning. Austin’s arrest was the culmination of an ongoing Organized Crime Unit investigation to identify sources of heroin and meth being distributed in the Mission District of Knoxville.

Austin, who has at least nine prior felony convictions, was identified as a possible source in the course of the investigation. Austin was approached and ultimately arrested by officers based on controlled purchases of meth that were made from him in February and March. Officers also saw Austin making apparent hand-to-hand drug transactions in the mission area prior to his arrest.

Austin was taken into custody on Wednesday morning for charges stemming from the previous controlled purchases. A search of his person revealed approximately 40 grams of suspected meth in separate bags and over $1,000 in cash. Based on the totality of the circumstances, investigators also obtained a search warrant for the hotel room where Austin was staying at the Hamilton Inn on Clyde Street. In the room, investigators found an additional 86 grams of meth, two digital scales, three cell phones, and two other unknown substances.