Two charged after Cashiers stop; 4 grams of marijuana among drugs found
Jackson County sheriff's deputies stopped a vehicle in the Cashiers area on 20 April 2026 and charged two people after K9 Ziva alerted to narcotics. The search found about 4 grams of suspected marijuana alongside fentanyl, methamphetamine and Xanax pills, and one of the two was charged with marijuana possession.
🇺🇸 Cashiers area, Jackson County, North Carolina · North Carolina, United States
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle in the Cashiers area on
Monday, April 20, 2026, and its Criminal Suppression Unit dog, K9 Ziva, alerted
officers to narcotics in the vehicle.[1]A probable cause search of the
vehicle found what the sheriff’s office described as suspected marijuana
weighing approximately 4 grams, along with 42 grams of suspected fentanyl, 56
grams of suspected methamphetamine and more than 20 Xanax pills.[1]
Deputies charged two people, Bethany Lightstar Powers and Hunter Duke Fortner,
according to the sheriff’s office.[1]Both were charged withtrafficking in
fentanyl by possession and by transportation and with trafficking in
methamphetamine by possession and by transportation, as well as possession of
fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a Schedule IV controlled
substance, maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances and possession of
drug paraphernalia.[1]Powers was additionally charged with possession of
marijuana.[1]
The charges were announced in a post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page that
the station cited, and no court appearance or plea was reported.[1]
Photos and video
Jackson County Sheriff's Office photo published with the report on the Cashiers-area traffic stop and K9 search. Photo: Jackson County Sheriff's OfficePhoto details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
2
Charged
2
Cannabis
4 g
Agency
Jackson County Sheriff's Office
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (4 g)
Activity
Possession
Setting
Vehicle
Charge
possession of marijuana
Case stage
Charged
Region
North Carolina
Sources
WLOSwlos.comTwo charged with trafficking after K9 narcotics search, sheriff's office says
Open questions the AI reported
The marijuana is described only as suspected, weighing approximately 4 grams, with no laboratory confirmation or exact weight reported.
The fentanyl, methamphetamine and Xanax quantities from the same search are not cannabis and are excluded from the figures.
No court date, plea, detention decision or outcome was reported for either defendant.
The place is given only as the Cashiers area of Jackson County; no road or town address is named.
The stop was reported through the sheriff's office Facebook post, which could not be opened directly.
Only one accessible source was found for this event; WSPA and Sylva Herald reports on the same sheriff's office arrests returned access errors.
No picture was found that is known to show the seized marijuana itself; the one photo listed is a sheriff's office image published with the report and is not confirmed to depict the seizure.
A man was arrested at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint in Texas after a K-9 alert led to the discovery of marijuana and three firearms, one reported stolen. The driver, held on an active warrant, was turned over to local authorities for extradition.
Passenger Jamaal Parker was arrested on November 10, 2026, after a wrong-way vehicle pursuit ended in a crash in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Sheriff's deputies reported finding 4 pounds (1.81 kilograms) of concentrated marijuana (THC) valued at over $13,000 and two loaded handguns in his backpack.
Patrick Wayne Gaylor, 40, was arrested on Maple Avenue near East 6th Street in Rome, Georgia, after police stopped his vehicle over an improperly restrained five-year-old child and found marijuana. He was charged with marijuana possession, a child safety restraint violation, and a parole violation.
Palo Alto County sheriff's deputies arrested 37-year-old Baley Dietrich and 18-year-old Landen Dietrich, both of Graettinger, after a disturbance call on the morning of 9 November 2026. Both were charged with first-offense marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia and were booked into the Palo Alto County Jail to await initial appearances.
