Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department rounds up drug and firearm offenders

Published 7:00 am Thursday, December 1, 2016

From left to right: Gustavo Lopez, Jerry Drennan and Cody Cuevas. Submitted Photos

From left to right: Gustavo Lopez, Jerry Drennan and Cody Cuevas.
Submitted Photos

In three separate incidents this month, Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested suspects for drug and firearm related offenses.

On Nov. 6, deputies arrested a Guatemalan man who was allegedly trafficking controlled substances through the county.

Around noon, deputies conducted a traffic stop on a 2011 Chevrolet pickup truck for following another vehicle too closely, Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said.

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The driver of the vehicle was identified as Gustavo Lopez, 46, of 6th North Avenue, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Tucker said.

Deputies became suspicious after speaking with Lopez and observed a generator, air compressor and other tools and equipment in the bed of the truck, Tucker said.

During a search of the vehicle, deputies found a hidden compartment containing 18.7 pounds of heroin, estimated to have a $900,000 street value, Tucker said.

Lopez was arrested for trafficking a controlled substance and following another vehicle too closely. He is also being held for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, Tucker said.

According to Pearl River County jail records, his bond is set at $1 million.

In a separate incident on Nov. 23, deputies responded to a report of a stolen firearm on Drennan Drive in Carriere.

The complainant told deputies her firearm was stolen out of her vehicle and believed the culprit was Jerry Drennan, 29, who lived in a pop-up camper on the same property, Tucker said.

As detectives approached the camper to make contact with Drennan, they saw the front door propped open, Tucker said.

Detectives observed the stolen weapon in plain sight, and saw two more firearms further inside the camper, Tucker said.

Drennan was not on the property at the time. A check with dispatch revealed he was a convicted felon, Tucker said.

While detectives were at Drennan’s residence, troopers with the Mississippi Highway Patrol stopped Drennan for a traffic violation in suspicion of a DUI, Tucker said.

Communication over the radio resulted in inter-agency cooperation where Drennan was arrested for burglary from a vehicle, three counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, driving with a suspended license, disorderly conduct and DUI, Tucker said.

He was also wanted by the Mississippi Department of Corrections for an administrative warrant, Tucker said.

Drennan was transported to the Pearl River County jail where he is being held.

In a third incident, Pearl River County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Tommy Spiers Road at 8:16 a.m. on Nov. 26 after a call about a suspicious white male with tattoos and no shirt knocking on a resident’s door, Tucker said.

When the first deputy arrived, he noticed a white male walking down the street wearing a jacket but no shirt, Tucker said.

The deputy immediately noticed the man had a handgun in his jacket pocket and after securing the weapon, the deputty conduced a pat down, discovering a pill bottle, Tucker said.

A second deputy arrived on scene and officers questioned the man, later identified as Cody Cuevas, 21, of 70 Burgetown Road, Carriere, discovering the pill bottle contained a plastic bag of a crystalized substance believed to be methamphetamine, Tucker said.

Deputies also found a glass pipe used for smoking methamphetamine wrapped in a rag, Tucker said.

Cuevas was arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute while in possession of a firearm and possession of paraphernalia, Tucker said.

About Julia Arenstam

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