Traffic stop reveals passenger in possession of meth

A Lawrenceburg Police officer who stopped a driver for a speeding violation last week discovered that a passenger in the vehicle was in possession of methamphetamine.

Reports filed through the department show that passenger Christopher Matthew Russell, age 29, of 206 First Avenue in Ethridge garnered charges of possession of Schedule II narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia.

An officer reports stopping a driver along North Locust Avenue at around 10:30 p.m. Thursday for traveling at a speed of fifty-two miles per hour in a thirty-five mph zone. He reports that the car, driven by a local woman, had six occupants. The driver reported that she was “giving some people a ride and they were getting some food.”

While speaking with the driver, the officer noted that Russell began to shake markedly and exhibit other signs of being extremely nervous, including the fact that he “smoked four cigarettes in just a few minutes.”

When the officer attempted to strike up a conversation with Russell, he reports that, “He was unable to respond or keep up due to the severity of his nervousness.”

Suspecting that there might be contraband inside the car, the officer called for backup and asked the occupants to exit the vehicle. As Russell exited, he said he noticed a set of digital scales “in the floorboard where his feet had been.”

The officer conducted a pat-down to verify that Russell had no weapons on his person. While doing so, he reports that he “noticed that he had nearly every pocket full of objects.” He had Russell empty his pockets “to thoroughly check for weapons,” and found in one pocket a spoon and a small plastic baggie that contained a “glass-like substance” he believed to be meth. This was verified through a positive result when a field test was administered on the substance.

Russell was transported to the Lawrence County Detention Center where he was booked on the charges, then incarcerated under a bond of $10,000.

Russell is slated to answer the charges in General Sessions Court on July 1, 2016.