Five individuals have been arrested in Chatham County on various drug, firearm and counterfeit currency charges.
Authorities said the arrests were made during a series of traffic stops on April 16. Deputies arrested 39-year-old Steven Brian Fields after a search of his vehicle resulted in the seizure of methamphetamine and an AR-15 rifle.
Deputies with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office then conducted a search of Fields’ Siler City residence where officials found “items that are possibly linked to recent breaking and entering cases.” Law enforcement also confiscated “ammunition, firearm suppressors, and body armor from the home.”
Other traffic stops related to the investigation led to the arrests of 28-year-old Steven Tuttle, 44-year-old Chad Stovall, 21-year-old Damien Mitchell and 25-year-old Samantha Gannon, according to a release.
The investigation resulted in authorities seizing “multiple bags of methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and counterfeit currency.”
The arrests resulted in nine felony and six misdemeanor charges and bonds ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. All suspects were scheduled to appear in court on April 23.
Chad Stovall, Steven Tuttle, Samantha Gannon, Damien Mitchell, Steven Fields / Photos via Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.
Traffic stop = parallel construction
It seems that all local drug busts start with an innocent “traffic stop” and then suddenly a large quantity of drugs and weapons are found. What a coincidence.
I’ll wager that these busts are coming from an FBI Stingray in place for some other reason and this is just spillover.