Published: June 17, 2009 11:22 pm         

Vermillion drug checkpoint nets $7,300, half pound of marijuana

TERRE HAUTE — A Vermillion County man faces felony drug charges after he was stopped during a multiagency criminal interdiction at Clinton.

Billy D. Lewis, 54, of Centenary was lodged in the Vermillion County Jail late Tuesday on preliminary charges of possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.

Det. John M. Yoho of the Vermillion County Drug Task Force reported that officers working a checkpoint on Indiana 163 in Clinton arrested Lewis after making a traffic stop. They seized more than a half-pound of marijuana, several Vicodin and Xanax tablets, and more than $7,300 in cash. They also impounded a 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Lewis.

Yoho was assisted in the arrest by Clinton Police Officer Curtis Stoffle, Vermillion County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Hennis, and Clinton Reserve Officer Wayne Hollowell.