Published: June 24, 2009 08:56 pm      

DEU arrests man on drug charge

A man who sped away from an attempted traffic stop was arrested on a drug charge near Seven Points Monday.

Ryan Michael Martin, 30, remained jailed Wednesday afternoon on a charge of manufacture of a controlled substance (1 gram to 4 grams).

Bond on the second degree felony was set at $25,000.

Sheriff Ray Nutt said the chase began Tuesday night, when Drug Enforcement Unit Investigators saw a white Saturn traveling at a high speed on County Road 2139, west of the Seven Points city limits. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle it drove away at a faster speed in an attempt to avoid capture. During the pursuit Martin continued to increase speed as he tried to elude the lawmen.

Heavy traffic forced the Saturn to stop when it reached Farm-to-Market Road 85. With the vehicle stopped at the intersection, officers approached and ordered Martin to throw his keys out of the car.

Martin complied.

Nutt said investigators asked Martin if he had anything illegal inside the vehicle. He told the DEU officers that he had some methamphetamine in his possession. Investigators looked inside and found a small black bag between the console and the front seat. Inside the bag, officers found a substance that appeared to the meth, baggies used for packaging drugs for sale, syringes and digital scales.

Investigators Ronny Halbert, Darrell Waller, David Faught and Kenny Collard were involved in the arrest and search, Nutt said.