RUTLEDGE, Tenn. (WVLT)-Three children in state custody after a raid on what the sheriff calls "The biggest drug ring in Grainger County". The homeowners tell us it's not true and it's all a mistake.

It happened last Thursday. Deputies stormed a house and seized cash, drugs and guns. How much they confiscated and what else they found has the homeowners and the sheriff telling different stories.

This home on gray road in Rutledge is where the bust went down.
John Mullins says, "When I opened the door they slammed me against the wall and down on the floor."

The sheriff reports that deputies confiscated weapons, drugs and 8 thousand dollars. But John Mullins, who lives there with his brother Eddie tells us that's not so. He has the paperwork to prove it. The drugs were "prescribed" pills. Investigators wrote that they took 705 dollars, and a deputy told us that is the full amount, not $8,000. John Mullins says, "I don't know what to do. They haven't arrested me. I'm being slandered on the news."

The sheriff's release had other bold statements calling Mullins "the largest drug dealer and drug ring in Grainger County." It also noted "the children had been eating from the floor which had cat urine, bedbugs and many venomous spiders and insects." Edward Mullins says, "They said they were eating off the floor. I have a little girl who's 11 years old. They know better than to eat off the floor. You couldn't make them. There's an infant who was there who went through more grief standing on the porch than we've ever put him through."

Based on the report, DCS took three children, ages 13, 10 and an 18 month old out of the home. Deputies say charges are pending from the raid. Mullins has already been to court to get the kids back. The court has ordered the house exterminated and both Mullins and his brother must get drug and alcohol assessments before the kids can return.

A deputy told us a grand jury is looking at the evidence. He says the sheriff is the only person who can talk on camera. We tried to talk with Sheriff Scott Layell and he hasn't returned any of our phone calls.
Deputies arrested two other men who came to the Mullins home during the raid. They face several drug charges.