Deputies arrest Carthage man for drug trafficking

A Carthage man out on parole was arrested here with $5,000 in meth “packaged for distribution.”

The man, Coy Wayne Kitchens Jr, 31, 2969 Risher Road, Carthage, was arrested and charged with trafficking of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle, according to Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark.

According to Clark, the initial call reported a man in a gold Lexus parked on the side of Highway 488 near the intersection of Road 339 in the Waldo community on Sunday, Feb. 2, at about 11:45 a.m.

Clark said his deputies and the Hope Volunteer Fire Department responded for a wellness check.

“The suspect was acting suspicious and trying to leave,” Clark said. Clark noted Kitchens even tried to turn on the car but was unsuccessful because he was out of gas.

A search of Kitchens found a bag containing seven individual packages of crystal methamphetamine in a plastic bag. 

Clark said the drugs were “packaged for distribution.”

He said the package weighed about 84 grams in total. Clark said the drugs had a street value of between $4,500 and $5,000.

Clark said this arrest would put Kitchens in violation of his parole. He said he is still communicating with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and is not sure of the specific crime but noted Kitchens “has some time hanging over his head.”

Clark said most recently, Kitchens was arrested in Rankin County for felon in possession of a firearm in November 2022. Clark said this was his second such charge in Rankin County in a little over a year, previously arrested for the same crime in September 2021.

Clark said Kitchen’s record includes possession of methamphetamine charge in Neshoba County from July 2016 and goes as far back as 2012 when he was arrested for felony malicious mischief in Leake County.