As part of an investigation into suspected drug trafficking, three individuals were arrested Tuesday in Jeffersonville by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Sheriff Vernon Stanforth, FCSO detectives and agents from the US 23 Major Crimes Task Force were investigating intelligence received about alleged drug trafficking taking place in the area. During the investigation, detectives identified a vehicle reportedly associated with the intelligence received, and they made a traffic stop on State Street in the Village of Jeffersonville.

The driver of the vehicle, identified as Jacob R. Johnson, 24, of West Jefferson, was found to have a suspended driver’s license and was reportedly in possession of drug paraphernalia. A loaded firearm was also found inside the vehicle, said Stanforth.

Johnson was taken into custody and was charged with driving under suspension, possession of drug paraphernalia, and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony. He was incarcerated in the Fayette County Jail in lieu of bond.

The same day, a search warrant was executed at the AmeriHost Inn, Room 120, in Jeffersonville, and detectives detained two occupants and conducted a search of the room. During the search, a substance “presumptively identified” as methamphetamine was recovered, according to Stanforth. Numerous items of drug paraphernalia and money were also recovered.

Tesa M. Axline, 20, of South Solon, and Dereck A. Meddock, 34, at large, were both charged with possession of methamphetamine, a third-degree felony. Both were incarcerated in the Fayette County Jail in lieu of bond.

Sheriff’s detectives are continuing their investigation and the case will be presented to the Fayette County Prosecutor’s Office, where additional charges are likely, Stanforth said.