CLAY CITY, Ill. - An incident that developed in Clay City Thursday morning has left a Clay County deputy in roughly the same boat as the sheriff in White County about a month earlier: His brother's locked up on a dope charge.
The situation came about Thursday, January 5, when at about 8 a.m., a number of law enforcement vehicles, including Clay County and Illinois State Police, converged on a trailer on Fourth Street South West in Clay City.
The trailer is the residence of Michael "Mick" Spitzner, 47, and his family.
Spitzner had apparently observed something going on, said folks in the area; he had parked his truck at the city's post office and ran to his house before everybody arrived, and effectively shut himself inside, even after law enforcement began pounding on the door.
But ultimately he was taken in and charged, likely from what was observed being toted out of the trailer, which included brown paper bags the type of which evidence is stored in.
At last check, he was sitting in jail in Louisville, charged with Possession of Meth less than 5 grams (Class 3 felony), and Manufacturing or Delivering Cannabis 10 to 30 grams (Class 4 felony).
Bond was set at $50,000 ($5,000 cash).
He's the brother of Clay County Deputy Steve Spitzner.
Bradley Maier
In the current issue, another area lawman has encountered a similar difficulty...White County Sheriff Doug Maier's brother Bradley of Crossville was arrested and charged in Richland County, and that matter is featured on the front page. Spitzner, similarly to Maier, has dealt with it before: Mick has a criminal history in Clay dating back several years, including a Class 2 felony Burglary which we covered in 2004.
We'll have more on the story in the upcoming print edition, so be sure you get out and pick up the current issue, so we'll have less to take off the stands a week from Tuesday, January 17, when we get the January-February edition out...and if you have an online membership to the e-Edition, be watching for that to hit Monday, January 16. If you don't have an online membership or would like to subscribe to the print edition, hit this link and get started...we truly believe you WON'T be disappointed.