Five-Gallon Bucket of Suspected Meth Found in Trunk During Webster County Traffic Stop, Three Charged

A late-night traffic stop along Route 20 in Webster County ended with three people behind bars and one of the stranger hiding spots our state troopers have come across in a while: a five-gallon bucket tucked away in the trunk, packed with what West Virginia State Police say is suspected methamphetamine.

According to a criminal complaint, a trooper pulled over a red Subaru Forester around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Y Mart, after watching the car travel north on Route 20 between Cowen and the store. The trooper wrote that the driver was going several miles per hour under the speed limit and swerving, touching both the yellow center line and the white edge line more than once.

Troopers identified the driver as Ronnie Gerald Belt, 64, of Camden on Gauley. The front-seat passenger was Carl Vernon Chapman, 59, of Cowen, and the rear passenger was Jessica Brooke Stewart, 39, of Summersville.

The complaint says the trooper asked for permission to search the vehicle and was turned down. All three were then asked to step out so K-9 Lambert could work around the car. Before the dog got to it, Stewart told the trooper there was drug paraphernalia in her backpack. The K-9 then alerted twice, once at the rear passenger door and once at the rear driver's side fender.

When troopers searched the Forester, they found a large amount of a white, crystal-like substance believed to be meth inside a five-gallon bucket in the trunk. Police say the bucket had been hidden under copper wire, positioned above the driver's side rear tire. Troopers also reported finding several baggies and a smaller amount of a similar substance near the rear passenger-side door.

Belt, Chapman and Stewart are each charged with possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and conspiracy. All three were taken to Central Regional Jail, where they are being held on $40,000 bond each.

As with any criminal case, these are charges, and everyone accused is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Webster County is a close-knit corner of the mountains, the kind of place where folks know the Y Mart and the stretch of Route 20 between Cowen and Camden on Gauley like the back of their hand. For a lot of families there, the drug epidemic isn't a headline, it's personal. Stops like this one are a reminder of the work our troopers and their four-legged partners put in on the back roads, often late at night and far from the spotlight.

We'll keep an eye on this case as it moves through the courts and share updates with our West Virginia family as we learn more.