ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) - A Lufkin man is behind bars Thursday after more than 300 images of child pornography were found on his cell phone during an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, according to Angelina County Sheriff Tom Selman.
Kenneth Wayne Cassels Jr., 33, was held Thursday on bonds totaling $600,000 on warrants charging him with five counts of possession of child pornography, possession of a controlled substance (penalty group 1) and tampering with evidence with intent to impair, according to jail records.
The investigation began after Angelina County deputies pulled over Cassels’s vehicle for a traffic violation on U.S. Highway 59.
Cassels threw out two bags containing about 59 grams of what appeared to be methamphetamine, Selman said. Deputies suspected him of drug dealing due to the amount of meth recovered, the sheriff said.
A forensic examination revealed suspected child abuse material, prompting a second search warrant for “obscenity and child exploitation” images found on the phone, Selman said.
During the second search, deputies found more than 300 images of suspected child abuse on the phone, Selman said.
Deputies arrested Cassels on May 7 and booked him into the Angelina County Jail, where he remains, according to jail records.
Charged with several felonies, Cassels could face between five and 99 years in state prison, a maximum $10,000 fine and lifetime registration as a sex offender if convicted.