GARLAND — Two Garland men are in custody following a routine stop Thursday morning in southern end of the county, in which meth was discovered, according to reports.
A deputy with the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling the area of Old Mintz Highway around 10 a.m. Thursday when he observed a vehicle operating with an expired registration plate. The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and upon approaching it, smelled marijuana coming from with inside, reports state.
“A probable cause search was conducted and during the search 32 grams of meth was found in the truck of the vehicle,” Sheriff’s Lt. Marcus Smith stated.
The driver, Erick Hernandez, 23, of 518 S. Ingold Ave., Garland, and a passenger, Matthew Justin Moore, 24, of 130 6th St. Garland, were taken into custody and charged in connection with the drug seizure.
Hernandez and Moore were both charged with trafficking by possession, trafficking by transport, maintaining a vehicle for storage of a controlled substance, conspiring to traffic methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bond for each was set at $120,000 apiece.
This is not Moore’s first run-in with law enforcement in regards to drugs, according to court records through the N.C. Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) database. He was previously convicted of drug charges in Sampson, including possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, in November 2016. That followed a conviction in New Hanover County on a charge of larceny in April 2015.
He was given suspended sentences in both cases, however a 12-month probation period was handed down in the Sampson conviction. While that year has elapsed, Moore’s probationary status was still listed as “active” in the NCDPS database.
