Staff
Report
A Hiawassee man accused of tossing a baggie containing fentanyl out of a truck window was arrested Aug. 29 by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office after the baggie was recovered on the roadway.
Around 10 p.m. Sgt. Tyler Faggard initiated a traffic stop for a Dodge Dakota near the High Bridge on NC Hwy 175. Faggard noted a clear baggie being thrown out of the passenger window of the truck, landing in the roadway, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
“He knew this to be a tactic of people in possession of illegal drugs and paraphernalia to avoid being caught in possession of them,” said Sheriff Mark Buchanan.
Faggard radioed Sgt. Steven Smith, who was close behind, to pick up the baggie in the roadway.
After the Dodge Dakota was stopped , the driver was identified as Haily Rae Ann Akins, 25, of Marble who had a suspended driver’s license. Passengers were Eugene Joshua Ashe, 43, of Hiawassee, in the front seat and Richard Alan Wallace, 43, of Hayesville, was in the back seat of the truck.
Smith arrived at the traffic stop with the clear baggie which contained “a powder like substance,” that field tested positive for fentanyl, according to the sheriff. A further search of the truck did not yield additional contraband.
After interviewing the trio in the truck, officers learned that Ashe had actually thrown the baggie containing fentanyl out of the window, according to Buchanan.
Ashe was arrested for felony possession of fentanyl which is a schedule II controlled substance. He was transported to the Clay County Jail and placed under a $6,000 secured bond.
Because neither Akins nor Wallace had valid driver’s licenses, the Dodge truck was towed from the scene.