LONDON, Ark. — Two eastbound vehicles. Two traffic stops about five miles apart. And by the end of Wednesday afternoon, nearly 60 pounds of marijuana had been seized along Interstate 40 in Pope County.
The stops happened roughly two hours apart Sept. 23 near London and resulted in three arrests.
The first came around 2:15 p.m., when an Arkansas State Police trooper stopped a Nissan Rogue near mile marker 72 for traffic violations.
Inside, troopers found suitcases that they say contained 30 individually packaged bundles of marijuana. Together, they weighed about 30 pounds.
Darnell Keith Russell Reed, 39, and Ashley Renee Carter, 36, both of Waynesboro, Virginia, were arrested. Troopers also seized $4,510 in cash from Carter.
Reed and Carter were taken to the Pope County Detention Center on charges of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. Reed was also accused of driving on a suspended license.
Then, around 4:15 p.m., another eastbound vehicle was stopped — this time a Ford Bronco Sport near mile marker 77.
Troopers searched the Bronco and reported finding another 29 pounds of marijuana, divided among 29 vacuum-sealed packages. They also found 100 THC vape cartridges. State Police estimated the THC vape products at about 200 grams.
Jermaine Lavanis Bowers, 35, was arrested and taken to the Pope County Detention Center on a charge of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver. Bowers, Reed and Carter were all still listed on the Pope County Sheriff’s Office inmate roster Thursday.
The two seizures totaled about 59 pounds of marijuana — almost evenly divided between the two vehicles.
And mile marker 77 has been the scene of another sizable drug seizure in recent years. In February 2024, State Police reported finding about 120 pounds of methamphetamine and 21 pounds of cocaine during an eastbound I-40 traffic stop near that same mile marker.
State Police said Wednesday’s investigation remains ongoing. A bond hearing for those arrested is scheduled for Friday morning.
