Man arrested with meth near casino

A Eupora man was arrested and charged after attempting to discard a container of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in in front of the casinos.

The man, Stanley Box, 59, of 1132 MLK Drive, Eupora, was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance, according to Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark.

Deputies first encountered Box during a traffic stop on Highway 16 West on June 22 around 9 p.m. in front of the Silver Star and Golden Moon casinos.

During the stop, Box, the passenger, appeared nervous and kept checking under his seat. Deputies approached the passenger seat and asked Box to step out of the vehicle. They found a container under the seat. At this time, Box grabbed the container from the deputy and discarded it in a storm drain.

Deputies then restrained Box and retrieved the container from the drain.

“Thankfully, some of my guys had tools in their vehicles and were able to get into the storm drain and retrieve the container,” Clark said.

Deputies found meth and drug paraphernalia, including a pipe inside the container.

Clark said Box later claimed the contents of the container as his after questioning. Clark said the driver, a 59-year-old man from Ackerman, was initially arrested on charges related to the recovered meth but was released after Box claimed them as his.