Pot Smoking Driver Arrested for Dealing Drugs

SAN ANGELO— A San Angelo man has been arrested for the manufacture and delivery of methamphetamine after authorities saw him smoking pot while driving on the Loop.

Matthew Merrill, 33, of San Angelo, was charged with Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance Methamphetamine.

According to court documents, on March 11, 2024, Department of Public Safety Troopers observed a silver Chevrolet suburban traveling westbound on the Houston Harte Expressway. A traffic stop was initiated after the suspect vehicle failed to drive in a single lane. The vehicle took the ramp to the Main Street intersection and immediately got back onto Houston Harte before taking the US-87 exit.

The vehicle proceeded to drive under the underpass and stopped just past the McDonalds on 6th Street near Martin Luther King Boulevard. During this time, the driver was seen moving around a lot inside the vehicle.

The driver was identified as Merrill, and a strong odor of marijuana was coming from his vehicle. He allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana. He was searched and no contraband was found on his person but inside his vehicle, several small baggies were found along with a vacuum sealed green substance, a marijuana roach, and a backpack that contained a vacuum sealed crystal substance that was identified as methamphetamine. Also, more plastic baggies, spoons, a scale, and a funnel were found as well.

The weight of the meth came in at 86 grams and Merrill was placed under arrest for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance. He is currently an inmate inside the Tom Green County Jail being held on $51,000 bond.