Traffic Stop Leads To Drug Charges For Couple In Iredell County

MOORESVILLE, NC — A recent traffic stop for a car with an equipment violation led to the arrest of a man and woman now charged with drug trafficking after nearly 130 doses of drugs were found in the vehicle.

The April 17 bust made by the Iredell Sheriff’s Department on Murdock Road near Troutman was triggered after a deputy pulled over Benjamin Walter Lyalls and Elizabeth Ashley Lyalls in their Toyota with the faulty equipment.

While speaking with them, Sergeant R. Sherill “noticed they were acting very nervous while interacting with him,” a statement from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

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After consenting to a search, Sherill found Alprazolam, which is the same drug as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, in a quantity of 88 dosages, with drug paraphernalia. Benjamin Lyalls also had 41 doses of Hydrocodone in his possession.

Benjamin Lyalls has been charged with two counts of felony trafficking of opiates, felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Elizabeth Lyalls was charged with felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance, felony maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bond for both was set at $250,000 each.

Photos courtesy of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office