OC Sheriff’s Office makes Drug Arrest in Fair Play

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office made a major drug arrest after a traffic stop earlier Tuesday morning in the Fair Play area, explains Public Information Officer Jimmy Watt. “A deputy from the Uniform Patrol Division on routine patrol observed a vehicle with a defective brake light while traveling on Durham Road. The deputy initiated a traffic stop on the white Volvo on Durham Road near Bird Drive and made contact with the driver. The deputy observed the driver to be nervous and the driver did not have a license and could not provide the deputy with information about the vehicle. The driver gave the deputy consent to search the vehicle. While searching the vehicle, the deputy located a quantity of drugs in a bag under a seat in the vehicle where 36-year-old Tabitha Ann Hammond of Seneca was sitting. Hammond claimed possession of the drugs that the deputy discovered as a well as a large amount of cash in a separate bag inside the vehicle. Agents from the Narcotics Division of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene as part of the investigation. The driver of the vehicle was issued citations for defective equipment and drug paraphernalia located under the driver’s seat and was released. The vehicle was towed from the scene. Hammond was placed under arrest and transported to the Oconee County Detention Center where she has been charged with one count of trafficking in methamphetamine and with two counts of possession of a controlled substance. The amount of methamphetamine seized is around 5.3 pounds, according to deputies, and has street value of around $242,000.” The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing their investigation.