A Jackson County man has been arrested after he was discovered to be in possession of fentanyl during a traffic stop, police report.
Zachary William Rhoades, 26, of Seymour is facing four preliminary charges of dealing a narcotic drug — one a Level 3 felony, two Level 4 felonies and one a Level 5 felony. Rhoades also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia.
According to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Officer Zach Elliott was patrolling Friday afternoon when he saw Rhoades’ vehicle traveling westbound on U.S. 50 in Seymour and noticed the vehicle’s plates were expired.
Elliott stopped Rhoades at the Circle K convenience store at Stevens Way on the city’s east side after he saw him making erratic lane changes without signaling.
After being stopped, Rhoades admitted he had used false tags on his vehicle, as his expired in 2015, Elliott said.
Seymour Police Department Detective Adam Surface stopped to assist Elliott with the traffic stop and used his K-9, Ace, to conduct a free air sweep around the vehicle. Ace indicated to the officers there were illegal narcotics present, leading them to search the vehicle.
The officers said they found 5.9 grams of fentanyl packaged in six separate bags in the vehicle. According to police, that is approximately 59 single doses. Police also located a cut straw during their search.
Rhoades was taken into custody and transported to the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown, where he is being held without bond.
He also had been under investigation by county Officer Brad Barker, who had successfully conducted multiple controlled buys on him prior to his arrest, Elliott said.
According to police, their investigation concluded with the removal of nearly 10 grams of fentanyl or almost 100 doses from local communities.
A Level 3 felony carries a sentence of three to 16 years with an advisory sentence of nine years if convicted.
Officers from the Brownstown and Seymour police departments have been combining their resources recently to tackle drug-related investigations, and both assisted with the investigation into Rhoades’ activities, Elliott said.