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ELKINS - A Randolph County man is behind bars and facing a drug felony after a traffic stop.
William Houdini Johnson, Jr., 42, is charged with prohibited acts - controlled substance, a felony. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond, set by Randolph County Magistrate Mike Dyer.
According to the criminal complaint, prepared by Patrolman D.T. Sayre of the Elkins Police Department, on Monday, in Elkins, Sayre and Patrolman N.G. Elbon conducted a traffic stop on North Randolph Avenue, after seeing a Toyota Tacoma fail to signal a lane change and noticing a plate covering on the rear license plate.
Johnson, a passenger in the vehicle, was found to be in possession of a "large bag of a white powdery substance consistent with fentanyl," the criminal complaint states.
During a search of the vehicle, officers allegedly found "several used hypodermic needles consistent with the use of illegal substances," a silver Raven .25 semi-automatic pistol in the glove box, and "empty baggies with the ends cut off of them as if the ends were used for the packaging of illicit substances," the complaint states.
Another passenger in the vehicle told officers about allegedly witnessing Johnson and the vehicle’s driver using the apparent fentanyl before the traffic stop, according to the criminal complaint. Johnson reportedly told officers the substance was "just powdered sugar" and that he "wished the officers would test" it.
Sayre then proceeded to "field test the substance twice and received the same result for it being positive for fentanyl," the complaint states. Johnson then allegedly claimed "the officers were just railroading him and that he knows it’s not an illicit substance."