Taylor police arrested a man for possessing and selling drugs following a traffic stop in Ransom Twp.
Officer Matthew McDonald was patrolling Ransom Road on Tuesday when he noticed a vehicle in front of him cross over the double-yellow lines multiple times. He then saw it stop in the middle of Ransom and Creek roads and activate its left turn signal, even though there was no turn or road for it to turn onto, according to a criminal complaint.
McDonald stopped the vehicle and the driver, Willard John Yons III, 50, 2365 Fairyland Road, Lehighton, told him he wasn’t from the area and was unfamiliar with the road. While speaking with Yons, the officer saw his inspection sticker wasn’t properly filled out and two cellphones in the vehicle, according to the complaint. McDonald also noticed Yons’ hands appeared to be shaking when he handed him his license.
Yons told McDonald he was staying in Lackawanna County for a few days with some friends. However, Yons told him he was not sure where they lived and just met them recently. Yons then told the officer he was going to see a friend named Ray, but didn’t know where they lived and was following his GPS, adding he didn’t have anything to drink or anything illegal in the vehicle.
Willard John Yons III (Submitted)
While searching the vehicle, McDonald said in the complaint he noticed something hanging from the bottom of the vehicle by the back driver’s door and found a small bag with a magnet inside stuck to the bottom of the vehicle. He saw suspected methamphetamine inside and arrested Yons.
McDonald then opened the bag and found four clear zip-close bags containing suspected methamphetamine and a black digital scale with suspected methamphetamine residue inside, according to the complaint.
Yons initially told the officer the bag wasn’t his but later admitted it belonged to him, McDonald said in the complaint. He told the officer he had been in trouble for narcotics in 2017 but now uses them once a month. Yons then told McDonald he was in the area to sell narcotics because he was in need of money because he recently lost his job. Officers later found $490 in cash on him.
Yons told officers he knew it was wrong to sell the narcotics but he was looking to make money because he does not have a job due to injury, according to the complaint.
McDonald charged him with felony manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, disregarding a traffic lane and operating a vehicle without valid inspection. Magisterial District Judge George Seig arraigned him Wednesday on $75,000 bail. Yons was unable to post bail and taken to the Lackawanna County Prison, with a preliminary hearing Thursday.