Home Crime RCSO: South Carolina driver, passenger found with meth, pills in East Rockingham...

RCSO: South Carolina driver, passenger found with meth, pills in East Rockingham traffic stop

ROCKINGHAM — A man and woman are facing drug charges following a late-night traffic stop.

According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy patrolling East Rockingham saw a vehicle with South Carolina Plates riding around the area of Hannah Pickett Avenue around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday.

The deputy decided to conduct a traffic stop due to the time and the fact that the vehicle was from out of state, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver was reportedly identified as 24-year-old Takota Hugh Boone of Bennettsville, South Carolina, and the passenger was 32-year-old Brittany Carrie Valenzuela of Ellerbe.

The deputy reportedly received consent to search the vehicle and patted both occupants down.

According to the press release, the deputy found an unspecified quantity of meth, 46 unidentified pills, and an unspecified number of glass smoking pipes.

Both were arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia and booked into the Richmond County Jail, each on a $10,000 secured bond.

No charges appear to be filed in relation to the pills.

Jail records showed Boone was still being held at 1:40 p.m., but not Valenzuela.

Boone was also cited for having no operator’s license and having no insurance, according to the press release.

Charges are not yet reflected in online state records.

Neither Boone nor Valenzuela appear to have any pending charges or previous convictions in the state, according to records with the N.C. Court System and Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.

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Marlboro County Court Records show Boone had been charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor in 2017, but the case was dropped.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.



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