ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Five individuals are facing drug trafficking charges following two incidents over the weekend in Baldwin County.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack announced the arrests in a press conference held Monday at the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Central Investigations Command office in Robertsdale.

“These are not just drug arrests,” Mack said. “These are all dangerous individuals with extensive criminal histories. As I’ve said before, in the ongoing war on drugs, these are criminals who are no longer on the street and these are drugs that will not be used in a crime. Once drugs are taken into possession as evidence, at some point they will be destroyed.”

On Friday, Aug. 3, two Birmingham men were arrested on drug trafficking charges following a routine traffic stop on U.S. 98 in the Lillian community, in which officers found heroin and more than a gram of fentanyl.

“The state of Alabama recently ruled that anything over one gram of fentanyl constitutes drug trafficking,” Mack said. “This is the first arrest made by the Sheriff’s Department and Drug Task Force made under this new rule.”

Fentanyl is an opioid used as a pain medication that can also be used as a recreational drug, often mixed with heroin or cocaine.

“Fentanyl is a very dangerous drug that is a thousand times more lethal than heroin,” Mack said. “Anytime you can get a drug like fentanyl off the street is a win in the war on opioids.”

Roosevelt Jemel Mines, 48, and Kirby Terrell Reddick, 32, both of Birmingham, were arrested on two counts of drug trafficking, possession of marijuana, second degree, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Mines was also charged with using false identity to obstruct justice. He also has warrants with the Alabama Department of Corrections and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Mack said, and is being held without bond.

Reddick was also charged with tampering with physical evidence and is in jail on a $468,500 bond.

Mack called both Mines and Reddick “dangerous criminals” with a history of violent arrests, including attempted murder charges. If convicted, both could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On Sunday, Aug. 5, three individuals were arrested on drug trafficking charges after deputies responded to a call of shots fired on Water World Road, Mack said.

“One of the individuals was a resident of the campground, apparently heard a noise and fired a warning shot,” Mack said. “It is believed that individual exchanged gun fire with another individual.”

While responding to the call, deputies met a pickup truck on the road, traveling at a high rate of speed away from the campground.

Deputies, along with officers from the Loxley Police Department, found 70 grams of methamphetamine ICE with a street value of more than $100,000, Mack said.

Jesse Brown, 36, of Elberta, and Stephanie Brown, 36, of Loxley, but are reportedly husband and wife, along with 38-year-old Brian Thomas Pendelton, whose address is listed as Water World Road, Robertsdale, all face drug trafficking charges.

Pendelton has five arrests listed on the Baldwin County Corrections website, including several possession charges and a charge of transmitting obscene material to a child. He is in jail on a $100,000 bond.

Jesse Brown has eight arrests dating back to 2003, mostly on possession charges. He was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and has an outstanding traffic warrant. He is in jail on a $100,812 bond.

Stephanie Brown was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and has an outstanding warrant with the Sheriff’s Department. She is in jail without bond.

All three individuals face life in prison, if convicted, Mack said.

“I think what you see in this case is a history of addiction that has led to several drug related arrests,” Mack said. “I think the ultimate message here is that if you are found in possession of illegal drugs, you will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”