By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – An Alabaster man awaiting trial on charges alleging he trafficked cocaine in the parking lot of an Alabaster fast food restaurant has been rearrested after he allegedly was working to distribute heroin in the area.

The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force arrested Jeffery Demonte Cunningham, who lists an address on Seventh Avenue Southeast in Alabaster, on March 7 and charged him with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

The arrest came after Cunningham allegedly was found to be in possession of 14 individually wrapped bags of heroin intended for distribution on March 7, and was found to be in possession of a small amount of oxycodone and crack cocaine on the same day.

Because Cunningham was out of jail on bond while awaiting trial on several other drug charges when he was arrested on March 7, he is now being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $45,000.

In June 2015, a Shelby County grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Cunningham, charging him with felony counts of trafficking cocaine, unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.

At the time of Cunningham’s arrest, then-Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force Commander Kevin Turner said Cunningham’s arrest came after a Nov. 12, 2014, traffic stop in the parking lot of the McDonald’s restaurant in Alabaster’s South Promenade shopping center, during which a deputy allegedly discovered a controlled substance in the suspect’s vehicle.

Turner said the substance was sent to forensic investigators, and tested positive for cocaine.

According to his arrest warrants and indictments, Cunningham allegedly was in possession of 40.7 grams of cocaine during the November 2014 traffic stop, which resulted in his cocaine trafficking charge. Cunningham’s possession of a controlled substance charge came after officers also allegedly discovered methadone in his vehicle during the traffic stop.

Court documents also allege he distributed cocaine on Oct. 23, 2014, on Seventh Avenue Southeast in Alabaster.

Trafficking cocaine is a Class A felony, and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison upon conviction.