AHOSKIE – An alert Hertford County Sheriff’s Deputy led to the arrest of a person on drug charges here Dec. 31.

According to Hertford County Sheriff Juan Vaughan, Deputy Tom Helms was travelling on N.C. 11 south near the intersection of N.C. 42 west when he noticed a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed. Using his radar, he clocked the vehicle at 80 miles per hour (mph) in a 55 mph zone.

Upon turning his patrol car around, Helms stopped the vehicle on N.C. 11 between N.C. 42 and Bonner’s Bridge Road.

When he approached the car, Deputy Helms found four people in the vehicle and smelled an odor of alcohol. He and other officers then conducted a search of the vehicle in which they discovered crack cocaine, a firearm and trace amounts of marijuana.

Following the incident, Joshua Lenard Nobles, 30, of Lakeview Drive in Greenville was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine and simple possession of a schedule VI narcotic.

He was placed in the Hertford County Detention Center under a $10,500 secured bond.

Three passengers in the vehicle – Lashaunda Alston, Maurice Whichard, and Christina Love – each received citations for drug possession, drug paraphernalia possession and/or alcohol violations.

One day earlier, Deputy Helms and Deputy Greg Harrison were aiding in a driver’s license check point on U.S. 13. Having just cleared a stop, the officers came up behind a vehicle with no tags that stopped in the road and turned into a driveway.

Helms activated the blue lights and exited his vehicle, moving toward the suspect car. He and Harrison conducted a search of the vehicle.

The search led to charges for two of the occupants of the suspect car. Khirye Jones of N.C. 45 in Colerain was charged with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a schedule VI controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of an open container. He was placed under a $3,000 secured bond in the Hertford County Detention Center.

Zetron Harrell was charged with carrying a concealed handgun and possession of an open container. He was placed in the Hertford County Detention Center under a $1,500 secured bond.

“I’m pleased with the deputies in these cases,” Vaughan said. “They were vigilant and that led to these arrests.”