TEXARKANA, Ark–A Fort Worth, Texas, woman is facing federal drug trafficking charges in Arkansas after being stopped in a rental car with nine kilos of cocaine stashed in the quarter panels, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday.
Elissia Thomas, 34, aka Elissia Lewis, has been charged in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas with possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms, court records show.
Thomas was pulled over at approximately 7:45 a.m., July 17 on Interstate 30 at mile marker 7 in Texarkana, Ark., for a traffic violation, according to the complaint. When the trooper asked Thomas where she was travelling to, she allegedly told him she was driving to Little Rock to pay for her grandfather’s funeral.
Thomas allegedly told the trooper she was going to pay cash for the funeral and had enough in her account to cover the burial expenses. Thomas reportedly told the trooper she was not planning to attend the funeral, that she intended to drive to Little Rock, pay for the service and immediately return to Texas because she had to work the following day.
The trooper reportedly found it odd that Thomas would not simply pay for the funeral electronically. He also noticed a suitcase in the car and thought it was strange that Thomas would be travelling with luggage if she did not plan on spending the night away from home.
Thomas was allegedly slow in exiting the car when asked to do so and reluctant to allow the trooper permission to search the vehicle. Given Thomas’ alleged hesitation to grant the officer permission to search the car, the trooper elected to deploy his trained drug sniffing canine, the complaint said. The dog, “Dex,” allegedly alerted on the rear of the rented SUV where the trooper noticed some of the car’s rivets appeared to have been tampered with.
Inside the car’s rear quarter panel, the trooper discovered a wrapped bundle of what he suspected was powder cocaine. Eight additional bundles were found in the car’s other quarter panels and inside the back row of seats, the complaint alleges.
Thomas was arrested on state drug trafficking charges and her bond was set at $500,000 by a judge in Miller County, court records show.
The nine bundles were reportedly tested and weighed and showed to be a little over nine kilograms of cocaine.
Thomas had an initial appearance in federal court on Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant in Texarkana’s downtown federal building. Thomas waived the issue of detention and remains in federal custody.
Thomas is represented by Garnet Norwood. Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Jones is representing the government.