Woman charged with trafficking methamphetamine, heroin

Published 12:00 am Friday, January 19, 2024

SALISBURY — A woman received multiple drug trafficking charges on Monday after police say they found methamphetamine and heroin in a lockbox inside her car.

Deputies initially noticed a vehicle with a broken taillight traveling south on Interstate 85 and initiated a traffic stop near the Webb Road exit around midnight, a spokesperson for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said. When asked for his license, the driver of the vehicle said that he did not have a license with him but did provide another form of identification. A female in the passenger seat also allegedly told the deputy that she was the owner of the car.

The deputy noticed that both the driver and the passenger were acting nervous and appeared fidgety and asked for a K-9 unit to respond to their location to search the car, the spokesperson said. The K-9 gave a positive alert for drugs and deputies asked both occupants to step out of the vehicle and performed a search.

During the search, the deputies found a lockbox in the front passenger area of the vehicle and a purse behind the passenger seat. Inside the purse, they found a keychain with a key that matched the lockbox. Upon a search of the lockbox, deputies reportedly found a bag with 37.3 grams of a substance matching methamphetamine, another bag with 0.8 grams of a substance matching methamphetamine, a small bag with a substance matching heroin, two digital scales and syringes with substances that appeared to be methamphetamine and heroin inside.

Police arrested the passenger, identified as 49-year-old Heather Michelle Miller, and charged her with possession with intent to manufacture a schedule I controlled substance, trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a schedule I controlled substance, possession of marijuana drug paraphernalia and trafficking heroin or opium. Miller was placed in the Rowan County Detention Center and given a $20,000 bond.

Miller has been convicted of multiple drug-related crimes in the past, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections’ public offender listings.

The driver of the car was given a citation for driving while his license was revoked and released from the scene.