A Theodore man with a decades-old manslaughter conviction is facing new felony charges after investigators with the Mobile County Street Enforcement Narcotics Team executed a search warrant at a home in the community and recovered a large quantity of drugs, cash and property.
Kevin Neville Ward, 44, was arrested on charges including trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking a marijuana analog, first-degree possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Mobile Police Department. The search took place on the 7500 block of Willard Drive West, an address jail records list as Ward’s home.
Detectives reported seizing a wide range of narcotics during the search, including more than 36 grams of crystal methamphetamine, roughly 41 grams of marijuana, more than 120 Xanax tablets, 55 Hydromorphone pills, and additional quantities of Morphine and Clonazepam. Investigators also recovered more than 30 packs of synthetic marijuana, commonly known as spice, along with a smaller amount of crack cocaine.
Beyond the drugs themselves, officers reported taking $2,770 in cash, a firearm, a pickup truck, three all-terrain vehicles and more than $10,000 worth of additional electronics and property from the home. The scope of the seizure points to an operation investigators viewed as more than incidental possession, which is reflected in the trafficking-level charges filed against Ward.
Court records show Ward was charged with murder in 1990 and was convicted of manslaughter later that year, though no additional details from that decades-old case were immediately available. He remained in custody following Friday’s arrest.
The Mobile County Street Enforcement Narcotics Team, a multi-agency unit that targets drug distribution operations across the county, has been active in recent years in communities including Theodore, where investigators say narcotics activity has periodically drawn law enforcement attention. Cases like this one, built around search warrants rather than routine traffic stops, typically follow weeks or months of investigative work before an arrest is made.
The case remains under investigation, and additional charges are possible depending on the outcome of lab testing on the seized substances. Ward’s case will proceed through Mobile County court, where he faces the trafficking charges in addition to the lesser possession counts stemming from the same search.