Deputy arrests man with active warrant while speaking with known drug dealer

A man is in the Boone County jail on Friday after deputies discovered a gun on him all while speaking with a known drug dealer.

Last night around 9:30 PM a deputy with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department spotted a known drug dealer near the Super 8 Motel on Freedom drive in the Lake of the Woods area.

The deputy went to speak with the alleged dealer and noticed another vehicle nearby the dealer with a person in it.

That person in the vehicle was 26 year-old Derek Franklin Ward.

Deputies made contact with Ward and learned he had an active warrant.

Deputies found a pistol and substance believed to be meth.

Ward was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

The unlawful use of a weapon is for having a weapon near drugs.