Cherohala – A pair of Cherokee County residents learned the hard way late Saturday night that you do not ignore Graham County’s ID checkpoints.
Tyler Lee Gibbs, 25, and Madison Amanda Kincaid, 21 – both of Murphy – were both charged with trafficking methamphetamine, after officers pulled over a blue Jeep Cherokee on the Cherohala Skyway.
The vehicle failed to comply with the checkpoint in place on N.C. 143, and after a quick check it was discovered that Gibbs had outstanding warrants for his arrest. Following a search, Gibbs was also found to be in possession of methamphetamine, which led to the Cherokee Indian Police Department’s K-9 unit and more Graham County sheriff’s deputies being summoned for backup.
After arriving on the scene, K-9 Bowie gave officers a positive hit, which led to a subsequent search of the remaining occupants and the vehicle itself. Multiple plastic baggies, digital weighing scales and one large plastic baggie – containing 20 pre-packaged baggies of a crystal-like substance, later confirmed to be methamphetamine after a field test – were found in the SUV.
The total weight of the meth was roughly 35 grams.
The driver of the Jeep – Brian L. Nothdruft – was not charged.
“I want to commend our deputies for their hard work and dedication, especially during this time that we are all stretched to the limit of protecting our county from not only the everyday issues that we face, but the threat of the COVID-19 virus,” Graham County Sheriff Joseph Jones said in a release. “I also want to thank the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their assistance.
“We will not stop doing everything possible to make our county a safer place.”