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LINCOLNTON -- A routine traffic stop Wednesday morning led to the arrest of a man on drug trafficking charges, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says.
Eloy Hernandez, 26, of Newton, was arrested after authorities say narcotics officers found a little more than a pound of methamphetamine in his pick-up truck.
Deputies stopped Hernandez shortly before 10 a.m. in the parking lot of the Lincolnton Plaza Shopping Center, on North Aspen Street. Authorities say deputies wanted to tell the driver that a brake light was burned out.
But when Hernandez was not able to provide a valid driver’s license, deputies say, they searched the vehicle. A deputy searched the truck and said he found a gray plastic bag in a rear seat. According to authorities, Hernandez then told the deputy and a sergeant with him that he did not know anything about the contents of the bag.
As Hernandez was being led to a patrol car, deputies say, he pulled away from the officer and ran. Several narcotics officers had arrived at the scene and caught Hernandez as he fell against a truck parked nearby. Deputies say Hernandez was taken to CMC-Lincoln, for treatment of a cut on his face.
The contents of the bag tested positive for meth, according to authorities.
Hernandez was charged with one felony count each of trafficking by possession; trafficking by transportation; and maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance. He also was charged with two misdemeanors -- carrying a concealed weapon; and resisting, delaying and obstructing a public officer. He was jailed under $300,000 bond.
