ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WNCN) — Nash County deputies say a convicted felon they found with guns and drugs has been arrested.
Deputies said Thursday that one of them noticed a black SUV with hazard lights flashing early Tuesday morning in the middle of the southbound ramp to Interstate 95 off West Mount Drive.
The deputy who checked on the vehicle says he noticed the smell of marijuana.
The driver, Fredrika Morris, of Erwin, told the deputy she was coming from Virginia and had run out of gas, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
The passenger, Keith Antonio McDougald, of Benson, was found to have 41 grams of fentanyl and two grams of methamphetamine, deputies said.
The deputy said they also found a pistol under the front seat and an AR-15 rifle hidden under a towel on the back passenger floor.
The sheriff’s office says McDougald is a convicted felon and is not allowed to possess firearms.
The deputy said further investigation revealed McDougald was in control of the vehicle.
McDougald was arrested and charged with:
- Possession of firearm by felon
- Felony possession of Schedule II
- Possession of methamphetamine
- Possession of marijuana
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
He was taken to the Nash County Detention Center under a $245,000 bond.
The dangers of Fentanyl
Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone shared a warning about the impact of fentanyl.
“Our citizens need to know the impact of fentanyl, and the dangers it is causing to our families,” he said.
The sheriff said fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine.
He said only 2 milligrams — about the size of five grains of salt — can cause negative health effects including breathing difficulties, dizziness and possible overdose.
The sheriff warns that people are mixing fentanyl with other drugs like powder, nasal sprays and pills, increasing the likelihood of a deadly interaction.
In 2021, more than 4,000 North Carolinians died of drug overdoses, the state’s highest
record number of overdose deaths in a single year, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The sheriff’s office said more than 77 percent of those deaths likely involved fentanyl.
