A substance weighing approximately 106 grams, or about 3.75 ounces, that field tested positive as meth was found in a vehicle following a traffic stop in Rootstown on Thursday. Two Akron men were arrested.
An Akron man is in the Portage County Jail with a $150,000 bond after he was arrested in Rootstown after a traffic stop.
Shmar M. Antoine, 32, is charged in Portage County Municipal Court with first-degree felony trafficking in drugs in the vicinity of a school and second-degree felony possession of drugs.
In addition, he and a passenger in the vehicle, Akili C. Antoine, 20, also of Akron, are both charged with third-degree felony having weapons under disability, and carrying concealed weapons and improper handling firearms in a motor vehicle, both fourth-degree felonies. Akili Antoine is also charged with fifth-degree felony identity fraud.
Akili Antoine was ordered held on a $100,000 cash or surety bond.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that deputies assigned to the Portage Aggressive Crime Enforcement unit were conducting criminal interdiction efforts on Interstate 76 in Brimfield Township when they saw a 2025 Hyundai Palisade commit multiple lane and turn signal violations.
The vehicle exited the interstate, turning southbound onto State Route 44. A traffic stop was initiated near the Northeast Ohio Medical University and Rootstown schools campuses.
During the stop, deputies saw a clear, pill-shaped container protruding from the driver’s pocket. The container appeared to hold multicolored tablets consistent with the appearance of ecstasy. When questioned, the driver, identified as Shmar Antoine, voluntarily handed the container to deputies and allegedly admitted the pills were his. The container held about 100 ecstasy pills, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle. This resulted in the discovery of about 106 grams, about 3.75 ounces, of a crystalline substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, the sheriff’s office said.
The passenger allegedly falsely identified himself, but an Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles image associated with that name he gave showed an individual with neck tattoos, which the passenger did not have. After further questioning, the passenger admitted his true identity as Akili Antoine.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office reported finding suspected meth and ecstasy, along with a loaded handgun, in a vehicle following a traffic stop on State Route 44 in Rootstown on Thursday.
A loaded Glock handgun containing one round in the chamber and five additional rounds in the magazine was also reported found. The sheriff’s office said neither of the men is legally allowed to possess a firearm due to prior felony convictions.
According to complaints the sheriff’s office filed in court, the gun was in a book bag “within arms reach” of the men.
A photo the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook also shows cash, but the post does not mention money being found in the vehicle.
Attorneys representing the two men could not immediately be identified.
More: Streetsboro man will serve 5 years for trafficking, woman’s non-fatal overdose
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage deputies nab pair in Rootstown after drugs, loaded gun found