By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 30-year-old Montevallo man who is facing charges alleging he attempted to sell synthetic marijuana to local high school students is now facing a new felony charge after he allegedly brought suboxone into the Shelby County Jail.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office brought a felony promoting prison contraband charge against Derrick Demetrius Reed, who lists an address on Shelby County 223 in Montevallo, in late September.

The new charge came after Reed allegedly was found to be in possession of suboxone in the jail in January.

Reed has been held in the Shelby County Jail since he was arrested in March 2016 by the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force and charged with five charges of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, one count of trafficking synthetic marijuana, one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, one count of first-degree possession of marijuana and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted Reed on the charges in October 2016, and Reed has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He has remained in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $270,000 since he was arrested by the Task Force on March 11, 2016. When Reed was arrested in March, he had only been out of jail for two weeks after posting bond for multiple other drug distribution charges.

Task Force Commander Lt. Clay Hammac previously said deputies arrested Reed in Montevallo while the suspect allegedly was conducting an active drug deal.

During the arrest, deputies found Reed to be in possession of more than 500 grams of synthetic marijuana packaged for sale and two illegal firearms, Hammac said. The Task Force estimated the street value of the synthetic marijuana recovered in the arrest was about $31,000.

Hammac said the synthetic marijuana, which can lead to seizures, unconsciousness and even death, was intended for distribution in Montevallo High School, Pelham High School, Calera High School, Thompson High School and Helena High School.

Trafficking synthetic marijuana is a Class A felony, and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.