Cops and Courts

Westover traffic stop leads to drug arrest

A traffic stop on Monday at approximately 12:30 a.m. in Westover resulted in the arrest of a Monongalia County woman after police allegedly found multiple illegal substances in her vehicle.

Patrolman Justice Carver, with the Westover Police Department, reported he was behind a vehicle traveling on Fairmont Road when he saw the vehicle cross the center line.

According to a criminal complaint, Carver stopped the vehicle on Holland Avenue and spoke with the driver, later identified as Shayla Charisse Phillips, 37, of Morgantown.  The officer stated that while speaking with Phillips he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.  

Patrolman Layton, with the Star City Police Department, also saw suspected marijuana sitting on the passenger’s seat, the complaint said.

Carver reported that officers detained Phillips “after a short physical altercation.”  Officers with Westover, Star City and Granville Police then conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle.

Inside Phillips’ vehicle, officers allegedly found multiple clear cellophane bags, one containing a small amount of marijuana, a second containing approximately 10 grams of a substance testing positive for crack cocaine and a third with around five grams of a blue substance, which tested positive for fentanyl.

Additionally, a fourth bag with approximately 25 grams of a white substance, which also tested positive for fentanyl was found, as well as a digital scale, the complaint read.

Phillips was taken into custody and charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.  She was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court and bail was set at $30,000.  As of Wednesday, she is in custody at North Central Regional Jail.