On April 5, 2025, at approximately 7:09 a.m., Cumberland County Deputy Nikolas Brendel observed a black Chevy Suburban speeding at 44 mph on Peavine Rd near St. Francis Church. After initiating a traffic stop, the driver, Joseph Lewis, provided North Carolina and Wisconsin driver’s licenses but could not produce registration or insurance, though these were verified through dispatch.

Lewis consented to a vehicle search, during which a tumbler smelling of alcohol, possibly containing a margarita, was found. Lewis performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tests, showing signs of impairment in the horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn, and one-leg stand tests. He was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI).

A search incident to arrest revealed a container with suspected methamphetamine in his pocket, which Lewis confirmed was meth. A further vehicle search uncovered drug paraphernalia, including a straw and a modified pen tube with white powdery residue. Lewis’s girlfriend was contacted to retrieve the vehicle.

During transport to the justice center, Lewis’s cellphone and licenses were inadvertently left on the patrol car’s trunk; the phone was recovered, but the licenses were lost despite a search.

At the justice center, a blood draw was conducted and Lewis was charged with DUI, simple possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, and cited for an open container and got a warning for speeding.

The open container’s contents were discarded at the scene.