N.C. man arrested for drug possession
Toolbox
By Brent Curtis STAFF WRITER - Published: February 28, 2009
A North Carolina man who police say came to Rutland with a bag full of illegal prescription drugs worth almost $25,000 answered to a number of drug possession charges on Friday.
Roy D. Elledge, 43, of Kannapolis, N.C., pleaded innocent in Rutland District Court to two felony charges of possessing depressants, stimulants and narcotics, two misdemeanor charges of the same name and a single misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.
He was ordered held on $150,000 bail.
Elledge was arrested early Thursday evening when police were called to Williams Street for a report of suspicious activity.
City Police Officer Frank Post wrote in a police affidavit that when he reached Williams Street, he saw Elledge get into his 1991 Ford Explorer and drive away. When the vehicle turned without using a directional signal, Post said he pulled the vehicle over.
After the stop, Post said he could smell burnt marijuana in the vehicle. After repeated questions, Elledge allegedly told Post he had a .22-caliber rifle in the vehicle. After repeated requests, Post said Elledge consented to a search of the vehicle.
With help from his police dog King Bricks, Post said he found a loaded .22-caliber rifle as well as a .32-caliber semi-automatic Beretta handgun loaded with hollow point bullets.
The officer also said he found a duffel bag containing prescription pill bottles containing hundreds of prescription pills including hydrocodone bitartrate, methadone hydrochloride, oxycodone hydrochloride and Fentanyl patches.
Elledge also allegedly turned over a tin containing marijuana, Post wrote.
Elledge allegedly told police and a federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent that he was in Vermont for personal reasons. He also said that he found the drugs and the gun at the dump in Kannapolis and has been taking the opiates he found to relieve chronic pain from car crashes he's been in.
If convicted of all five offenses, Elledge faces a maximum penalty of 12-1/2 years in jail.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
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