By Shavonne Potts

shavonne.potts@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — A Salisbury man was charged with heroin possession Wednesday after he was stopped for suspicion of driving while impaired.

The Salisbury police charged Jeremy Eugene Motley, 29, of the 200 block of Grayson Drive, with felony possession of a controlled substance schedule I and felony possession of stolen goods.

According to police spokesman Lt. Lee Walker, an officer pulled behind a gray Dodge Dakota because he believed the driver was impaired. The driver of the car was not staying in his lane.

The officer stopped the car around 8 p.m. in the 100 block of Manor Drive and Pinehurst Street. Since the police department’s protocols have changed since the coronavirus outbreak, the officer indicated he would release Motley to a sober adult.

However, the officer also allegedly found a syringe upon searching Motley. The syringe contained a substance that tested positive for heroin. He was then arrested and taken to the Rowan County Detention Center, Walker said. Upon screening Motley, per the jail’s coronavirus protocol, jail staff determined they would not house him. In his screening process, Motley told the detention center he had family members staying with him who had been sick.

He was then taken to the Rowan County Magistrate’s Office and issued a written promise to appear in court. Had the new protocol not been in place, Walker said, Motley would have received a $3,000 secured bond.