A routine traffic stop resulted in one man’s arrest on drug and weapons charges Saturday afternoon in Fairplain.

Donald Howard Elmore, 38, of Kenna was arrested on misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of methamphetamine after he was stopped by Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy R.H. Mellinger.

According to the complaint filed by Mellinger, at 3:25 p.m., while on routine patrol in Fairplain, he was flagged down by a male subject in the Go-Mart parking lot who advised that there was a suspicious individual inside a red Chevrolet pickup truck in the Love’s Truck Stop parking lot. 

Mellinger located the suspect vehicle and observed it leave the Love’s parking lot and begin traveling down Route 21 where it allegedly crossed the center line twice within a short distance. 

Melliger then conducted a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, who identified himself as Donald Elmore. Mellinger said he observed Elmore’s mannerisms and behavior to become increasingly nervous. 

Mellinger obtained permission to search Elmore’s vehicle. During the search, he and Deputy B.L. Varney, who had arrived to offer assistance, discovered a small-framed Derringer-type .22-caliber handgun located inside a metal tin under the truck seat. The two also discovered a “large, primitive, homemade improvised knife/hatchet-type device,” more commonly known as a “shank,” also hidden under the seat. 

A search of Elmore’s person also uncovered a small glass vial containing white residue which they say was later identified as methamphetamine. A check of Elmore’s criminal record showed that Elmore had been convicted of methamphetamine possession in Kanawha County in March 2006.

Based on the evidence gathered, Elmore was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed weapon and one count of possession of methamphetamine, 2^nd offense. He was arraigned in Magistrate Court and released on $2,000 bond.