BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

FORT GAY, W.Va. — A traffic stop Monday evening in Fort Gay led to the arrest of a suspect on drug and weapons charges, Wayne County Sheriff Rick Thompson announced.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Drug Enforcement Unit had been patrolling the area when they decided to pull over a car. The driver was Brandon Lee Fasnacht, 26, of Louisa—a man with a history.

According to Thompson, when deputies approached the vehicle, Fasnacht attempted to conceal a bag of meth by shoving it down his pants.

But the meth was not the only surprise Fasnacht had in store. Authorities found a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun with an extended magazine tucked under the driver’s seat. Deputies also discovered a stash of marijuana in his pocket.

This was not Fasnacht’s first brush with law enforcement. He is currently on parole after a 2021 incident that saw him fleeing Kentucky police into West Virginia on a crotch rocket motorcycle. That chase ended when officers boxed him in on a dead-end street after a pursuit.

This time around Fasnacht faces new charges: being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Fasnacht is cooling his heels in custody at the Western Regional Jail in Barboursville on a $20,000 bond.