By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 47-year-old Trussville veterinarian who is facing child pornography and drug charges is now set to appear in Shelby County Circuit Court in January 2019, after his original November court date was continued.

David Ray Wallace, who lists an address on Sixth Avenue Northwest, originally was set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 28, but the hearing was continued until Jan. 30, 2019, after Wallace’s attorney cited scheduling issues with the November date.

Wallace was arrested by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Feb. 22 and charged with the felony child porn charge.

Wallace’s Feb. 22 arrest came exactly a month after he was arrested alongside 33-year-old Dana Marie Leslie of Pelham in an operation conducted by the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force, SWAT operators, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, United States Postal Inspectors and investigators from the office of Homeland Security.

Wallace’s original bond amount on the child porn charge was set at $150,000, but was reduced to $100,000 after Circuit Court Judge Daniel Crowson approved a bond reduction motion on March 26 submitted by Wallace’s attorney, Erskine Mathis.

In his request, Mathis claimed Wallace “has no prior felony convictions,” “is not a flight risk” and “is not a danger to the community.”

Wallace was released from jail on March 26 after posting the $100,000 bond.

Wallace’s drug charges came after law enforcement officers in the state of New York contacted ALEA investigators to notify them of a package of fentanyl they intercepted at JFK Airport. The package was intended for delivery in Shelby County.

ALEA, postal inspectors, Homeland Security investigators, and narcotics investigators with the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force identified the intended recipients of the package and conducted a search of the intended addresses for the fentanyl.

According to the Drug Task Force, Wallace purchased the fentanyl from the dark web using Bitcoins. During the operation, law enforcement officers seized about 18 grams of fentanyl.

Wallace and Leslie were each charged with felony conspiracy to commit a controlled substance crime, and were released from jail after posting bond two days after they were arrested.

Leslie is set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 20, 2019.

Capt. Clay Hammac, the commander of the Task Force, previously said the amount of fentanyl confiscated from the two suspects “equates to nearly 36,000 fatal doses of fentanyl taken off the streets.”