Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputies made several arrests after finding drugs throughout a vehicle during a routine traffic stop on West Run Road in Morgantown early Monday morning.
According to criminal complaints, Deputies Ward and Summers were on patrol and running stationary radar in the West Run Road area when they observed a vehicle approaching at what appeared to be a high rate of speed.
Deputies clocked the speed at 32 mph in a 25 mph zone and pulled the driver over.
Ward said in the complaint that he approached the car and began speaking with the driver and passengers. “All passengers in the vehicle appeared very nervous and the driver was being deceptive,” he stated.
A K9 was called to the scene and gave a positive indication. According to the complaint, drugs were found throughout the vehicle.
In the center console area of the front seat, deputies found a plastic bag with a separate black container inside which contained two “stamps” filled with a white powdery substance that Ward recognized to be heroin.
Deputies said the driver, identified as Laquan Montel Goode, 24, of Morgantown, and the front-seat passenger Kristin A. Richardson, 39, of Morgantown, both denied possession of the drugs, but both had ready access to them. Both were placed under arrest.
In the backseat, deputies said they located a black backpack which was being worn by Myron A. Manning, 24, of Warren, Mich., when they initially approached the vehicle.
Inside the backpack, Ward said they located about 6 grams of a white powdery substance that he again recognized to be heroin.
Ward stated that in his experience, “heroin is commonly sold in .10, .5, and 1 gram increments to people who use. Finding a ‘ball’ of heroin in this amount is usually possessed by low-to-mid-level drug dealers.”
A small amount of marijuana and a digital scale were also found in the backpack, the complaint said. Manning was also found to have two cell phones linked to his possession and $4,889 on his person, in two separate bands with several denominations.
During the routine strip search at the sheriff’s department, Richardson was found to have about 66 grams of methamphetamine on her person.
Methamphetamine is also commonly sold in .10, .5, and 1 gram increments, Ward stated, making this a large quantity of meth commonly found on drug dealers.
Richardson was charged with possession with intent to deliver a schedule I or II narcotic. A bond was set at $50,000.
Manning was also charged with possession with intent to deliver a schedule I or II narcotic. His bond was set at $100,000.
Goode, the vehicle’s driver, was charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
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