Deputies and investigators with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department arrested three suspects on drug related charges in two separate incidents.

Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier said the first case began on April 21, as a traffic stop, when Deputy David Bean saw a vehicle being driven carelessly on L.K. Sones Road near Sones Chapel Road.

As Bean spoke with the driver during the stop, he noticed the passenger, Melissa A. Wormser, 32, of 126 Stevens Rd., Petal, acting suspiciously. Saucier said Bean then advised Wormser of her rights and asked if she had any illegal substances on her, to which she said she had prescription medication on her.

A search of her purse found Wormser was carrying a pill bottle containing four Roxycodone pills, Saucier said. The bottle was not labeled for Roxycodone nor did Wormser have a prescription for the medication or for the 10 morphine pills that were also found in her purse, Saucier said.

Wormser was charged with two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance and the driver was released at the scene, Saucier said.

On April 19, narcotics investigators received a call that Oxycontin pills were being sold out of the home of 50 year-old William V. Duncan, at 177 Will Thompson Rd., and that he also had a large amount of cash on him, Saucier said. Investigators went to the home to check out the complaint and spoke with Duncan, who was standing outside the home with another person, 35 year-old Crystal Smith of 167 Will Thompson Rd.

The investigators got out of the car and identified themselves to Duncan and Smith, Saucier said. The investigators reported they saw Smith drop two blue pills on the ground, and then pick them up and swallow them, the chief investigator said. Investigators attempted to recover the pills from Smith, but she had already swallowed them, Saucier said.

Consent to search the home was acquired and the investigators found $3,291 in cash inside, which was believed to have been acquired by illegal means since Duncan is unemployed, Saucier said.

Also found were 18 Xanax pills and 6 Roxycodones, leading investigators to charge Duncan with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and to seize the cash, Saucier said. Smith was charged with disorderly conduct and tampering with evidence, the chief investigator said.