A Patrick Springs man was taken into custody on Monday, April 22, in connection with his alleged involvement in a robbery in Winston Salem, N.C., according to a release from the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office.
Jerry Christopher Howard, 40, of 4028 Pleasant View Drive, is currently being held in the Patrick County Jail awaiting extradition to Winston Salem, according to Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith, who said that his office received information about the robbery warrant from the Winston Salem Police Department.
Patrick County Sheriff’s Sgt. Lewis Carroll later saw Howard operating a Ford pickup truck on Pleasant View Drive, and attempted to stop the vehicle.
The vehicle allegedly evaded Carroll and it was spotted a short time later by Senior Virginia State Trooper Joe Hylton, who initiated a traffic stop. Howard was taken into custody without incident.
A search warrant was subsequently obtained by Patrick County Sheriff’s investigators for the Pleasant View Drive home. Approximately one pound of suspected Methamphetamine was seized as result of the search warrant.
“This is enough meth to infect more than 400 people when broken down into typically sold quantities,” Smith said, and described the seizure as “significant” in slowing the distribution of meth in the county.
A narcotics detection K9 from the Martinsville Police Department alerted officers to the suspected drugs allegedly hidden inside of the house, Smith said.
In addition to the Virginia State Police and the Martinsville Police Department, other agencies assisting the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office were US Department of Homeland Security, and North Carolina agencies of the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, Stokes County Sheriff’s Office and the Mount Airy Police Department.
Smith said the narcotics investigation is continuing. He urged anyone with information to call him confidentially at (276) 692-7012. Lt. Nick Pendleton and investigator Brian Hubbard are handling the investigation.
