Kentucky man arrested after pound of meth found in stolen vehicle in New Albany

Libby Cunningham, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

Oct. 3—FLOYD COUNTY — A man is facing six felonies after police found more than a pound of methamphetamine and 30 grams of fentanyl pills along with other drugs inside a stolen vehicle at a Thorton's gas station in New Albany.

The vehicle was flagged by a FLOCK safety camera over the weekend.

"According to the Probable Cause Affidavit the FLOCK camera that is posted on State Route 111 really provided info to the police," said Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane. "Our partnership with the sheriff's office has been incredible with the FLOCK cameras because they've allowed us to identify particular individuals, which allow us to begin investigations that have really helped our community."

Stefan D. Walker Jr., 37, of Shively, Kentucky, was arrested Oct. 1 by the Floyd County Sheriff's Department.

Officers were alerted by a notification from a FLOCK safety camera about a red Lexus with Kentucky plates that had been reported stolen driving in the area. It was spotted traveling North on State Route 111 heading toward New Albany.

A number of officers in the area responded and noted they had a visual on the vehicle once it turned into the gas station at 1401 Corydon Pike in New Albany.

The three officers who arrived at the scene approached the vehicle on foot and held the driver and passenger at gunpoint. Walker was identified as the driver.

Both the driver and passenger were taken into custody without incident. Police conducted a search and found $5,000 in cash rolled in a rubber band in Walker's front right pocket and about $1,110 in cash in his wallet.

Officers then inventoried the car and located a loaded syringe, pills, a blue rock-like substance, a crystal substance and a brown powder substance.

They also found a turquoise travel bag with a black lockbox inside. Police read Walker his Miranda Rights and Walker told police in "utter excitement" he wanted to share information about drug trafficking in the area.

Once in the Floyd County Jail, Walker told police they had permission to look through his cellphone and to look up a name within a messaging app to find the code for the lockbox.

Officers were able to use that code and opened the lockbox. Inside, they found nearly 550 grams of methamphetamine, 377 grams of oxycodone, nearly 43 grams of marijuana, more than nine grams of cocaine and three unknown white pills.

Walker is being charged with four felonies related to drug dealing, a felony for auto theft and a felony for unlawful possession of a syringe.

"Our office is dedicated to using the full weight of the law to protect our community and people who choose to bring illegal and dangerous substances into our community," Lane said.