Rowell Charged with Drug Trafficking

A 61-year-old Vian man was charged May 26 with illegal drug trafficking, a felony, after a traffic stop in Sallisaw.

Arland Dewayne Rowell was a passenger in a car under surveillance by Sallisaw police. An officer waited at the car wash on North Kerr Boulevard for the vehicle, a white Mazda pickup, to pass him. As the truck approached the officer, the driver made a rapid lane change without signaling, prompting the officer to initiate a traffic stop.

As the officer pulled in behind the Mazda, the truck slowed and prepared to turn onto West Chickasaw Street as if the driver was trying to avoid him.

The truck eventually stopped and the officer made contact with the driver, who reportedly appeared extremely nervous. Rowell, the passenger, had been arrested the day before for being under the influence of a narcotic.

The driver admitted to using drugs the week before. When officers asked her to show her arms, they clearly saw track marks on them, the report indicates.

Officers discovered a working set of digital scales and empty plastic baggies inside a bag in the truck’s bed. Rowell also had baggies of suspected methamphetamine in his right front pocket. Officers also found $1,370 in cash.

After Rowell was transported to the county jail, the officer was notified that a jailer there had found another baggie with the same off-white substance inside it on his person. Police collected six total baggies, which contained more than 20 grams of the suspicious substance.

Rowell’s next court appearance is set for 9 a.m. June 17 before Judge Kyle Waters.

Laura Brown, KXMX Staff Writer

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