Two local men charged with multiple felonies after routine traffic stop
Two Hot Springs men were arrested on multiple felony charges Tuesday after Hot Springs police allegedly found
1.45 pounds of marijuana and two guns in their vehicle after a routine traffic stop.
Wynton Dupree Erby, 29, who lists a
South Patterson Street address, and
Corey Alex- ander Melton,
29, who lists a Vista Street address, were taken into custody around 2 p.m. and each charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, possession of a schedule
VI controlled substance with purpose to de- liver, punish- able by up to 10 years, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years.
Erby, who was previously convicted on felony drug charges in
2013, was also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by certain persons, punishable by up to 20 years.
According to the affidavit,
Officer Rod West was working radar at Riviera and Bellaire when he spotted a black Dodge Charger speeding on Bellaire and made a traffic stop on it after the driver pulled into a driveway in the 100 block of Stonehenge Court.
The driver, later identified as Erby, attempted to exit the car once it stopped. West told him several times to remain in the Charger, and then approached the car to explain the nature of the stop. At that point, Erby reportedly said, “You are pulling me over because I am black.”
A passenger, identified as Melton, reportedly told West he was in possession of a firearm, but had a concealed carry permit. A friend of Melton’s who lived at the residence on Stonehenge came outside and provided West with the permit.
West approached the passenger side of the car and told Melton to place both hands on the dashboard. West then noticed an odor of what he believed to be marijuana coming from the Charger.
West asked Erby if there was anything in the car he needed to know about. Initially, Erby said there was nothing, but when asked to exit the Charger he said, “Wait, there is some in the back seat.” Both men were detained as the car was searched.
West allegedly located two weapons on the front passenger floorboard, an SKS pistol with a 75-round magazine and a 9-mm hand gun with a 30-round magazine. Inside a backpack in the back seat, he reportedly found one large sealed bag containing approximately 544 grams of marijuana, a glass jar containing approximately 109 grams of marijuana, a clear plastic bag containing 4 grams of marijuana, approximately 2 grams inside a paper and a digital scale. A total of approximately 1.45 pounds of marijuana was recovered from the vehicle.
In an interview, Melton reportedly said Erby was taking him to the gun range. He said he knew Erby was a convicted felon but thought he was allowed to be in possession of a firearm, just not shoot it. He claimed he was unaware of any marijuana in the vehicle outside of the joint he smoked prior to the traffic stop. When questioned about the amount of marijuana in the car, he allegedly said, “I can tell you exactly how much it is. It’s 1 pound and four zips of marijuana.”
Erby declined to answer questions and as he was being escorted to the pre-booking area, he stopped and stated, “Oh, I forgot about this.” Erby then removed 36 $100 bills and two $50 bills from his right sock, as well as 52 $100 bills from his left sock, a total of $8,900.
Both Erby and Melton were being held without bond Wednesday and are set to appear May 16 in Garland County District Court.