Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Drug Bust Made By Local Police At Car Wash

Defective equipment on a car led to Milton Balance being arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, crack cocaine, with intent to deliver.

According to court records, on May 16, around 9:45 p.m. Prescott police officers Steve Gulick and Larry Miller were patrolling on East Olive when they noticed a westbound vehicle with a defective rear light.

As the officers turned around, they saw the car turn south on Highway 67 without giving a signal, and also turn into the MacBrayer Car Wash without signaling.

They stopped the car at the car wash, with the driver, Balance, getting out and coming toward them. However, as he passed the left rear door, he appeared to drop something.

Balance was asked for his driver's license, and told the officers he didn't have one, but gave them an Arkansas ID card.

A check on Balance showed his license had been suspended.

Miller went to the vehicle and saw a plastic bag on the ground. The bag contained several pieces of an off-white substance believed to be crack cocaine. He noted the ground beneath the bag was wet, while the bag itself was dry.

Balance was arrested, with the officers performing a field test on the substance found. The test results showed positive for cocaine.

Balance was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. This is a class Y felony, punishable by 10-40 years of life in prison and a fine up to $25,000.

He was also cited for driving on a suspended license, having a defective signal light and no turn signal.