Man found with large cache of Valium

Van Wert independent

A Van Wert man faces multiple charges related to a traffic stop that occurred Saturday evening.

Matthew A. Southerland, 31, of 523 N. Franklin St., was stopped in the 100 block of East Main Street for traveling left of center, and the officer who stopped him then began an investigation into whether he was operating a motor vehicle while impaired (OVI).

As part of that investigation, a search was made of Southerland’s vehicle and officers found more than 1,000 doses of Diazepam (Valium) in the vehicle. The Diazepam was seized as evidence and sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) laboratory for analysis.

As a result of the stop, Southerland was arrested on a charge of OVI, as well as possession of drugs, a fourth-degree felony offense because of the large amount of drugs found, and trafficking in drugs, a felony of the fifth degree.

He was taken to the Van Wert County Correctional Facility until an initial appearance in Van Wert Municipal Court.