On Sunday, May 21, 2023, the Decherd Police Department received a call about a possible burglary in progress at 1005 W. Main Street.
Officers Patrick Chambers, Dustin Cook, and K-9 Officer Freyja responded to the residence and found both the front and rear doors open. A male subject, identified as 62-year-old James Stephens of Hillsboro, was found inside the residence. Officer Cook detained Stephens and noticed a knife on his person. Chambers then noticed something in Stephens’ pocket and asked what was in there. Stephens stated he did not know. Officers conducted a safety pat down of the man and retrieved the unknown object from his pocket. It was found to be a white container with a large amount of a blue substance that appeared to be pure fentanyl in one baggie and a small amount of a white crystal substance in a smaller baggie.
Officers Cook and Chambers conducted a sweep of the area Stephens was in and found a small .25 caliber pistol.
Officers weighed the suspected fentanyl and found it to be almost 7 grams. The alleged methamphetamine was found to weigh 0.6 grams.
Stephens was arrested and charged with possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
