Salisbury man arrested for illegal possession of a firearm, drug offenses

SALISBURY, Md. – A traffic stop late last week led to gun and drug charges for a Salisbury man.

At around 1:30 p.m. Friday, an officer with the Salisbury Police Department was patrolling the area of W. Salisbury Parkway and Nanticoke Road when he observed a vehicle committing multiple traffic violations. The officer initiated a traffic stop and the vehicle pulled into the parking lot of McDonald’s located at 1205 Parsons Road.

When the vehicle came to a stop, the driver, later identified as 29-year-old Jodecii Purnell, immediately got out and fled on foot. Purnell was taken into custody a short time later in the 1100 block of Pemberton Drive.

A search of Purnell’s belongings led to the discovery of a loaded, semi-automatic handgun, in addition to amounts of suspected fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and MDMA indicative of possession with intent to distribute. A records check also revealed that Purnell is prohibited from possessing a regulated firearm.

Purnell was charged with illegal possession of a regulated firearm, handgun on person, firearm possession: drug trafficking, and other related offenses.