Salem man found with more than 62 grams of cocaine, other drugs

Anthony Adkins, 33, Salem, was arrested after officers went to investigate a suspicious vehicle.

The red Ford Ranger in question had only one headlight and Chris Cauble with the Salem Police found it traveling west on West Market Street.

He initiated a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Adkins, whose hands, Cauble said, were trembling. Adkins’s driving status was suspended with a prior conviction, and so was his passenger’s, Casey Spurgeon. Adkins claimed he had just purchased the vehicle and the title was at home and he had no proof of insurance with him. The plates on the vehicle belonged to a green 1993 Chevrolet truck registered to someone else.

While Adkins was speaking with Cauble, Salem Police Department Chad Webb deployed K-9 officer Zuma to check out the Ranger.

Adkins denied having anything illegal on him or hiding anything and he was taken to the jail.

While at the jail, Cauble heard from Salem Police Sergeant James Moore, who told him he and Webb had located a large amount of white powder that tested positive for cocaine — 62.5 grams — along with several pills hidden amongst the detritus in the vehicle, including 12 Gabapentin, two Tizanidine hydrochloride, two Alprazolam, one amphetamine and dextroamphetamine and four hydrochlorothiazide pills.

During Adkins’s book-in process, the jailer also found a clear bag of white powder in Adkins’s boot, which Adkins claimed he’d forgotten was there. Adkins claimed all of the pills and powder in the vehicle belonged to him and his passenger had nothing to do with it.