Mississippi deputies discover enough fentanyl to kill 2,000 people during traffic stop

Published 4:54 pm Tuesday, October 31, 2023

A traffic stop on a Mississippi interstate frontage road led to the discovery of enough fentanyl to kill up to 2,000 people.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the traffic stop occurred at approximately 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 when Sheriff’s Investigator Jeff Merritt stopped a car on South Frontage Road with the assistance of Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents and Vicksburg police.

Lance Burton, 36, of Vicksburg, the driver of the car, was arrested on a warrant for probation violation, while Tomi Davidson, 53, a passenger in the car, was arrested on a charge of failure to obey a lawful order.

During a search of Davidson during booking, deputies found 4.5 grams (about 0.16 ounces) of the drug fentanyl and charged her with felony introduction of a controlled substance into a correctional facility.

Davidson, who was already out on bond on a prior drug charge at the time of her arrest, is being held in the Warren County Jail without bond on a hold from the 9th Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Pace said the amount of fentanyl found on Davidson was enough to overdose and kill 1,500 to 2,000 people.

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