Two men were arrested Sunday evening and placed in the Crenshaw County jail with various drug charges pending against both.

Ricky Lee McLeod, 42, of 535 Jeffcoat Street in Luverne, and Wendell Keith Taylor, Jr., 40, of 401 Bowden Street in Brundidge, were pulled over by Crenshaw County Deputy Joey Dickey Sunday around 5 p.m. in front of South Luverne Baptist Church where the two were arrested and their car was searched.

The drug arrests came after a three-day search when Investigator Ronnie White received a call last Friday stating that two white males were going around town buying items to make meth. White said the two had bought every book of matches from the shelves in Piggly Wiggly, and they had also been to Fred’s for the same purpose. A description of the car the two suspects were driving was then released to law enforcement, but it was not spotted again until Sunday around 5 p.m.

After recognizing the vehicle, a small, white car with no hubcaps, Deputy Joey Dickey then followed the suspects through Glenwood. He ran the license plate and found the driver to have a suspended license plus active warrants; McLeod and Taylor were pulled over in the driveway of the church.

Also arriving on the scene were Deputy Robert Fulton, Investigator White, Luverne Police Officer Rex Sport, and Deputy Mason Adcock.

The suspects’ vehicle was searched after Deputy Fulton noticed a chemical smell in the car, a smell that is associated with meth.

The deputies found several items of drug paraphernalia, including a Crown Royal bag under the passenger seat containing red phosphorous and a coffee filter containing other meth products. A digital scale was recovered from a back pack that was located inside the car, plus rubber gloves containing a two separate bottles of iodine.

“The driver tested positive for meth and marijuana, and the passenger admitted that he would be positive for meth,” White said.

“This is a prime example of how store employees can help law enforcement,” he added. “If they would notice something like someone buying all the matchbooks on the shelves, they should notify us.”

The suspects’ car was impounded. They both were arrested pending various drug charges.