AHOSKIE – Two Ahoskie residents and a Northampton County man are in the Hertford County Jail following their arrests on drug charges lodged by the Ahoskie Police Department.

The latest arrest came in the early morning hours of yesterday (Monday, July 25) following a vehicle stop performed by APD Detective Sgt. Stephen White and Sgt. Andres Snape.

“Sgt. White and Sgt. Snape were on routine patrol when they spotted a vehicle traveling on Catherine Street that was operating in violation of safety equipment,” said Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh. “They proceeded to stop the vehicle on Richard Street.”

The operator of that vehicle could not produce a driver’s license, forcing Sgt. White and Sgt. Snape to use other information on the vehicle to identify the driver as 20-year-old Sidney Jennings Jr. of 947 Horne Road, Pendleton.

“While waiting for the vehicle information from the DMV database, Sgt. White noticed a clear plastic baggie under the leg of the driver,” Chief Fitzhugh said. “Once the driver exited the vehicle, he handed that bag over to Sgt. White.”

The bag contained white, rock-like substances, later determined as crack cocaine.

“Mr. Jennings was placed under arrest and subsequent to that arrest, Sgt. White searched the vehicle after noting the strong smell of marijuana coming from the car,” Fitzhugh said. “His search produced a small amount of marijuana inside a piece of paper located on the front seat.”

While processing Jennings at the Ahoskie Police Station, the officers discovered he was wanted on three felony warrants in Northampton County – one count each of breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods.

Jennings was served with those warrants, which carried a secured bond of $50,000. He was charged by the Ahoskie Police with felony possession of cocaine as well as simple possession of marijuana, simple possession of drug paraphernalia and no operator’s license, all misdemeanors. Those charges resulted in an additional secured bond of $28,000.

Jennings is scheduled to make his first appearance today (Tuesday) in Hertford County District Court.

On Friday of last week (July 22), Detective Sgt. White and Auxiliary Officer Adam Benton were on routine patrol when they saw a locally known drug user leave a place of business with an item in his hand. They saw the person enter a vehicle and drive off, eventually stopping in the area of the old Bennett Box Company on North Railroad Street.

When the two officers approached the vehicle, they noticed a pill bottle in plain sight on the floorboard. That unmarked bottle contained 26 hydrocodone pills – an opium derivative. That led to charges against the passenger, Lashawn Antonio Vaughan, 28, of 601 North Railroad Street, Ahoskie, and the driver, Jessica Ann White, 19, of 246-B NC 561 East, Ahoskie.

White was charged with two felony counts of trafficking opium (one by possession and one by transportation) and one felony count of maintaining a vehicle to store a controlled substance. She was jailed under a $110,000 secured bond.

Vaughan was charged with one felony count of trafficking opium by possession and one misdemeanor count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and resist/delay/obstruct. His bond was set at $55,000 secured.

White and Vaughan are scheduled for their first court appearances today (Tuesday).

“I would like to commend my officers for their attention to detail in both these cases,” Chief Fitzhugh said. “Their training and skills led to three arrests as well as helping to rid our streets of illegal drugs.”