Man arrested for Cary culvert fire faces drug charges

A man once charged in connection with a fire that caused nearly $500,000 in damage to a major Cary roadway was arrested over the weekend on drug charges.

Posted 4:44 p.m. Feb 9, 2015 — Updated 11:04 p.m. Feb 9, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man once charged in connection with a fire that caused nearly $500,000 in damage to a major Cary roadway was arrested over the weekend on drug charges.

Tristan Matthew Zammit, 19, of 119 Anterbury Drive, Apex, faces charges of possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana, possession with intent to sell or distribute benzodiazepines and maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place to keep and sell controlled substances.

According to a search warrant filed Monday, Raleigh police arrested Zammit early Sunday morning after stopping him for driving into oncoming traffic on Western Boulevard. Police searched his 2014 Dodge Avenger and found drugs in a backpack.

According to arrest warrants, they found four 1-ounce packages of marijuana, 20 doses of Xanax and "a clear baggie containing an unknown white and blue powdery substance."

Bond was set at $50,000 pending his first court appearance Monday afternoon.

In 2013, Cary police arrested Zammit, then 17, in connection with a culvert fire beneath part of Cary Parkway, which was closed for three weeks as a result.

Wake County prosecutors later dismissed the charge as part of an effort by the state to recoup the $482,120 spent to repair the culvert and repave the road.

It wasn't clear Monday if the state has been reimbursed for the costs. Efforts to reach the North Carolina Attorney General's Office were unsuccessful.

According to court records, Zammit is scheduled to appear in court next month on charges of driving after consuming alcohol and in June on another drug possession charge from August.

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