LEE COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) — One man has been arrested for Trafficking in Methamphetamine and possession of a firearm while trafficking a narcotic, resulting in sentencing enhancement, according to the Lee County, Alabama District Attorney’s Office.
The District Attorney’s Office says the Opelika Police Department received information of a man driving a pickup truck that would be transporting large amounts of methamphetamine in Opelika. Police later identified the man as 57-year-old, William Derek Smith, who was originally spotted and stopped in a traffic stop for a traffic violation.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, a K-9 officer then alerted the presence of drugs inside of Smith’s truck. Officials say the following were recovered from Smith’s vehicle:
- Additional narcotics
- Drug paraphernalia
- More than 50 grams of methamphetamine
- Two firearms
Officials say Smith later admitted to the methamphetamine belonging to him. Police then arrested Smith for an additional felony offence while on bond. Alabama’s law requires a mandatory life sentence upon conviction for trafficking due to Smith’s prior felony criminal history.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, narcotics-related offenses remain a large percentage of criminal arrests in the Lee County area. Officials say these cases are also oftentimes correlated with additional serious criminal activity.
District Attorney’s Office officials say they appreciate the outstanding investigative work from Detective Alejandro Reyna and the hard work of Assistant District Attorney Madison Grantham…