photo by: Arizona Department of Corrections

Ricky Lincoln, left, and Keven E. Jones

The Kansas Highway Patrol said it seized a half pound each of fentanyl and heroin and three and a half pounds of methamphetamine after a traffic stop and arrested two Arizona men earlier this week at the turnpike exit into North Lawrence.

The men, Ricky Lincoln, 55, and Keven Ernest Jones, 62, both of Tucson, Arizona, were booked around 5:15 p.m. on Monday on suspicion of distributing heroin, distributing opiates, distributing stimulants and for not having a tax stamp on a controlled substance. The men were being held on a $61,500 bond after their arrest.

Prior to their arrests, a trooper observed the men’s vehicle commit multiple traffic violations and pulled the car over near the Kansas Turnpike Plaza 204, said Kansas Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Candice Breshears in an email to the Journal-World on Wednesday. Plaza 204 is in North Lawrence.

“During the stop, the trooper located approximately 3.5 pounds of methamphetamine, one-half pound each of heroin and fentanyl,” Breshears said.

The Kansas Highway Patrol continues to investigate the incident and is unable to release additional information at this time, Breshears said.

The Journal-World reached out to the Lawrence Police Department about any involvement it had in the arrest, to which LPD spokesperson Kim Murphree acknowledged that officers responded to a call at that time to mile marker 204 but that the department would defer to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the jail’s booking log said “Complaint not filed by DA,” and the men were no longer listed on the jail’s inmate roster.

Breshears said the filing of formal charges would be “up to prosecutorial authorities.”

Both men have multiple convictions for drug possession in Maricopa County, Arizona, according to Arizona Department of Corrections records.