Home Local News Rockingham officer finds meth, Suboxone in traffic stop

Rockingham officer finds meth, Suboxone in traffic stop

ROCKINGHAM — Between two stops made by officers who discovered a meth lab on Saturday, another officer stopped a vehicle, reportedly finding meth and other drugs.

According to a report, the officer was patrolling U.S. 220 in Rockingham when he ran the tag on a vehicle and find out it had expired.

He approached the driver, 29-year-old Jessica Chavis, of South Street, and asked for her ID. The officer says she told him she didn’t have one and, after checking, he discovered her license had been suspended. He also obtained the ID of the passenger, which he said was from out of state.

While waiting for information on those, the two officers, who had earlier pulled over a truck and reportedly found meth arrived on scene.

The reporting officer said he asked for permission to search the vehicle and Chavis told him it wasn’t hers. He reportedly replied that since she was in control of the vehicle, she could give permission.

The passenger, 58-year-old William Peksenak, consented to a search, according to the report.

During the search, the officer reportedly found makeup bags with several needles, as well as a Suboxone strip, a buprenorphine pill, a scale with crystal residue and a white powdery substance.

Peksenak was charged with simple possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and allowing someone to drive a motor vehicle with no registration. He was released on a $7,500 unsecured bond.

Chavis was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a revoked license. She was released on a $12,500 unsecured bond.

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They are both scheduled to appear in court Aug. 29.

Chavis received a sentence in 2017 after being convicted in Anson County for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.

She was first convicted in 2014 of possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting a public officer in Richmond County.

The following year, Chavis was convicted of misdemeanor larceny, possession of drug paraphernalia, obtaining property by false pretenses and possession of a Schedule III controlled substance.

Her probation was revoked in 2016 and she spent six months behind bars. She went back to prison on a post-release revocation nine months after being released in January of 2017 and was released again in May of 2018.

Pensenak has no prior convictions in North Carolina.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 



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Managing Editor William R. Toler is an award-winning writer and photographer with experience in print, television and online media.