Two men caught lingering around a Nicholls convenience store Tuesday were arrested after officers discovered they were carrying cocaine and prescription painkillers.
Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, a Nicholls Police Department officer got out with two male subjects at the Food Mart Store located on Van Street Hwy. The individuals, who were described by authorities as “acting suspicious,” were asked for identification, and officers inquired if they were carrying drugs or weapons.
One male, identified as 52-year-old Jeffery Nathaniel Canady Nicholls, allegedly had in his pocket a small piece of suspected crack cocaine and small bag of marijuana. The other male, 34-year-old Mathew Lee Baughman of Nicholls, had four yellows tablets in his pocket.
The Douglas-Coffee Drug Unit was contacted and, during their investigation, the substance Canady had in his possession was tested and returned a positive result for cocaine, with an an unofficial weight of 0.2 grams. The marijuana had an unofficial weight of 1.2 grams, authorities said. The tablets belonging to Baughman were identified as Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Canady was charged with possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and Baughman was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance.
Sheriff Doyle Wooten commented, “I want to thank (Nicholls Police) Chief Merritt, his officers and the officers of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office in this continued effort to remove the drugs from our community.”