LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A Huntington, West Virginia, man and a South Point, Ohio, woman face first-degree felony drug charges after the Ohio State Highway Patrol seized more than 5,700 grams of suspected crack cocaine during a traffic stop on State Route 823, according to the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office.
Stephen Hopkins, 49, and Jasmine Martin, 31, were arrested after troopers stopped their vehicle near mile marker 9 in Lucasville at about 6:26 p.m. Sunday, the sheriff’s office said. Troopers found approximately 5,746 grams of suspected crack cocaine, which the sheriff’s office estimated carries a street value of $574,600.
Hopkins and Martin were each charged with one count of trafficking in drugs and one count of possession of drugs, both first-degree felonies, according to the sheriff’s office. The Southern Ohio Drug Task Force coordinated with the Highway Patrol on the investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
Both were booked into the Scioto County Jail and scheduled for arraignment in Portsmouth Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Monday. The case will be presented to a grand jury through the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sunday’s arrests were the latest in a string of large drug seizures from traffic stops in the Lucasville area this year, including an August stop on State Route 104 that netted fentanyl and crack cocaine from a Dayton man.
Sheriff David Thoroughman and Portsmouth Police Chief Debby Brewer asked that anyone with information about drug activity in the area contact the Southern Ohio Drug Task Force tip line.
Suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office.
