- Washington County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mark Warden, left, speaks at a press conference Friday morning about a drug arrest made Thursday that involved a quarter-pound of methamphetamine and a quarter-pound of fentanyl that was made by Deputy Justin Peters, right. Peters used a canine, Timmy, floor, to find the drugs during the traffic stop. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
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- Pictured is a quarter-pound of methamphetamine and two different colored baggies of fentanyl that total a quarter-pound. The drugs were found during a traffic stop by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and led to the arrest of three women and one man from the Akron-Canton area. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Washington County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mark Warden, left, speaks at a press conference Friday morning about a drug arrest made Thursday that involved a quarter-pound of methamphetamine and a quarter-pound of fentanyl that was made by Deputy Justin Peters, right. Peters used a canine, Timmy, floor, to find the drugs during the traffic stop. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
MARIETTA — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrested four people from the Akron-Canton area Thursday during a traffic stop for possessing a quarter-pound each of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
At a WCSO press conference about the case Friday morning, WCSO Chief Deputy Mark Warden said the traffic stop was conducted by Deputy Justin Peters for a turn signal violation.
The vehicle had Texas plates and failed to use a turn signal while driving in the Seventh Street area of Pioneer Township. Peters stopped the vehicle and asked the driver, Kolia Lakrysal Garret, 21, Akron, for her license, insurance and vehicle registration, according to a WCSO media release.
Peters said when he conducted the stop he identified the occupants of the vehicle as being from the Akron-Canton area “which we know is a source city for narcotics” and while Garrett was trying to provide him with her information he ran his canine partner, Timmy, and the dog alerted to narcotics being in the vehicle.
According to the release, Peters and other members of the WCSO conducted a search of the vehicle, which yielded 111.19 grams of methamphetamine and 108.87 grams of suspected fentanyl. Peters said at the press conference that they found a bag of blue fentanyl and a bag of methamphetamine in the backseat of the car in the floorboard and found a bag of white fentanyl in the trunk underneath a spare tire.
Pictured is a quarter-pound of methamphetamine and two different colored baggies of fentanyl that total a quarter-pound. The drugs were found during a traffic stop by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and led to the arrest of three women and one man from the Akron-Canton area. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
“As a result of that traffic stop a quarter-pound of methamphetamine and a quarter-pound of fentanyl was seized from the vehicle,” Warden said during the press conference.
According to the release, Garrett was arrested and charged with one first-degree felony charge of possession of fentanyl and a second-degree felony charge of possession of drugs and her bond was set at $150,000.
Two passengers in the car, Shyann Nicole McLeod, 23, Canton, and Myonna Jenee Boykins, 20, Akron, were each charged with one first-degree felony charge of possession of fentanyl and a second-degree felony charge of possession of drugs and their bond was set at $150,000 each. The third passenger, Roland Marshall Reddick, 28, Canton, was charged with a first-degree felony charge of possession of fentanyl, a first-degree felony charge of trafficking in drugs, a second-degree felony charge of possession of drugs and a second-degree felony charge of trafficking in drugs and his bond was set at $250,000.
According to Peters, the blue and white fentanyl found in the vehicle are the same, but the color of the drug depends on what you put in it. He said sometimes food coloring is used to change the color of fentanyl and the Sheriff’s Office has found blue, pink and purple fentanyl before.
“It’s marketing,” Warden said.
Also at the press conference were WCSO Assistant Criminal Division Director Eric Hunter and Major Brian Rhodes.
Rhodes emphasized the importance of the canine that was used in the drug arrest. He said if the canine hadn’t been used there is a possibility the drugs would be on the street for sale.
“It’s not like (they’re) drugs you can smell readily,” Rhodes said.
Garret, McLeod, Boykins and Reddic were transported to the Washington County Jail, according to the release. Jail records show all four still in the jail as of Friday afternoon.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com
