FROM STAFF REPORTS

On Aug. 7, while conducting undercover operations, narcotics investigators with the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force made contact with an individual suspected to be in possession of fentanyl, with the intent to sell it to an undercover investigator, according to a press release.

When contact was made with the suspect, he fled from investigators on foot while attempting to destroy the suspected fentanyl.

Due to the extreme dangers associated with powdered fentanyl, an investigator utilized his department-issued Taser to prevent the suspect from harming himself or others as he attempted to destroy the fentanyl.

The suspect, 30-year-old Laderrius Deonne Christian of Birmingham, was taken into custody without injury.

Christian was charged with drug trafficking, unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, resisting arrest, and carrying a pistol without a license.

Christian has since bonded out of the Shelby County Jail on a $118,000 bond.

Arrested with Christian were 27-year-old Lorenzo Crum of Midfield, and 24-year-old Marqus Carlton of Ensley.

Crum was charged with attempting to commit a controlled substance crime, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, drug trafficking, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Crum has bonded out of the Shelby County Jail on a $117,000 bond.

Carlton remains in the Shelby County Jail on charges ranging from drug trafficking, carrying a pistol without a license, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of marijuana, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

“I applaud the quick response of our investigators and their devotion to take this deadly drug off of our streets,” said Capt. Clay Hammac, commander of the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force. “Twenty-six grams of fentanyl in the hands of a drug dealer can leave a wake of tragedy in our community.”