News Staff Report
A 60-year-old Appleton Road resident is facing a dozen drug and drug-related charges after his arrest allowed Escambia County (Ala.) sheriff’s investigators to close out a three-week investigation into reports that the man might be committing narcotics violations.
ECSO Chief Deputy Mike Lambert reported last week that deputies, armed with arrest warrants, took Malcolm “Ross” Pettis into custody September 13, without incident, at his home on Appleton Road.
According to sheriff’s reports, Pettis was in possession of pills later identified as Xanax, as well as a pipe at the time of his arrest. A search conducted when the suspect was being booked into the Escambia County Detention Center yielded a bag of a white substance, later determined to be crystal meth, as well as more Xanax tablets.
The initial charges against Pettis were leaving the scene of an accident, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), three counts of possession of a controlled substance (pills), one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of possession of a substance for which a prescription is required.
Four more charges — two more counts of possession of a controlled substance (Xanax, crystal meth) and one count each of second-degree promoting prison contraband and possession of drug paraphernalia — were added after the jail search.
Pettis was charged in Atmore on January 26 with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop led to the discovery of methamphetamine and a pipe.
According to Lambert, Pettis is currently out on bond in both Escambia County (Ala.) and Conecuh County and is on probation in Florida.