2 men arrested for alleged drug trafficking during separate stops in Nelson County

The driver, James Roach, 40, of Bardstown, was arrested and lodged in the Nelson County Correctional Center on Wednesday. He was charged with:

• Careless driving
• Expired registration plates
• Failure to notify the Kentucky Cabinet of Transportation of change of address
• Trafficking in marijuana—less than five pounds
• First-degree trafficking in a controlled substance—first offense

On Thursday, the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook that the first arrest resulted from a traffic stop for careless driving and an expired registration from May 2023. A search of the vehicle reportedly revealed “a large amount” of marijuana, along with several oxycodone and gabapentin pills.

Court documents show that the second traffic stop of the night happened just before 2:30 a.m. on Thursday near Foster Heights Elementary School. Deputies reportedly saw a tan Chevrolet sedan driving by with neither the driver nor passenger wearing their seatbelt.

After pulling the car over, deputies noticed the inside allegedly smelled like burning marijuana.

During a search of the car, driven by Kevin Lydian, 45, of Bardstown, the NCSO found a plastic bag containing a rock-like white substance believed to be crack cocaine, according to an arrest citation.

The sheriff’s office also found a quart-sized bag of a powder substance believed to be cocaine that weighed several grams, along with $885 in cash.

Lydian was charged with:

• Failure to wear seat belts
• Possession of drug paraphernalia
• Possession of marijuana
• First-degree trafficking in a controlled substance—first offense—greater than or equal to four grams of cocaine

Lydian was lodged in the Nelson County Correctional Center.