GREENBRIER COUNTY W.Va. (WVDN) – According to a criminal complaint, with events dating back to June 2025, an officer initiated a traffic stop on a red Ford truck due to the registration being expired and not matching the vehicle it was on. The registration was reportedly for a 1994 Chevrolet in the name of Michael Burns. The same vehicle was allegedly listed in a drug nuisance complaint in the Orient Hill area of Greenbrier County.
After arriving on the scene, officers spoke with Burns and the passengers from the vehicle. A brown gun case with a scope sticking out could reportedly be seen in the rear glass of the truck. With Burns’ known status as a felon, all individuals were removed from the vehicle, according to the complaint.
Inside the vehicle, the officer reports that he saw lots of tin foil in varying shapes and sizes. These pieces were not in storage containers. The officer also saw two smoking containers in the vehicle, with one being in the door and one in the center console.
Another officer arrived on the scene to be of assistance. When they found out the vehicle was going to be towed, one of the passengers requested a jacket from the truck. An officer searched the jacket first and allegedly found drugs, so the passenger disowned it and left it in the truck.
Burns said the truck was his and that he hadn’t had time to get the tags transferred. The vehicle was towed to a secure storage facility to await a search warrant.
According to the criminal complaint, a search warrant was obtained, and inside the vehicle, along with Burns’ medication and identification, the officer found a plastic container. Inside the plastic container was reportedly a digital scale and a measuring cup with a white, crystal-like substance consistent with meth inside it.
Additionally, a metal scale weight was reportedly located inside a bag along with larger digital scales set to grams. Residue was also present on it. As the search through Burns’ bag continued, the officer reportedly found a plastic bag containing 25 smaller bags. In the same bag, the officer found an orange oil bottle that allegedly contained marijuana, a plastic bag containing marijuana, and a rubber container containing a whitish substance believed to be fentanyl. Found in the truck was another container with a white substance consistent with methamphetamine.
Burns was arrested on Nov.16 and is currently in Southern Regional Jail on a $30,000 bond.
