A Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopping a vehicle for a non-working license plate light and because the driver was holding a dog in her lap got a bonus when he found a man in the vehicle wanted for failing to appear in court and for a probation violation warrant.
The incident occurred Feb. 16 in Highland Square shopping center when Deputy Ethan Wilson stopped a Honda Accord in front of Kroger for the traffic violations.
He found the driver to be Jessica Morgan, 34, Oswego Road, and the passenger to be William Eric Whited, 42, Glade Creek Road, according to an incident/arrest report.
Whited immediately informed deputies he was on state probation which makes him subject to random searches. It was also learned two warrants charging a probation violation warrant and an attachment for failure to appear had not been served. Whited was taken into custody.
The resulting search of the vehicle yielded syringes with Morgan claiming to be a diabetic. Morgan could not answer a follow-up question asking her to describe which type of diabetes she had been diagnosed, causing further questioning. She was asked if she was in possession of any illegal substances. She strongly protested she was not in possession of any drug.
Crossville Police’s Mptl. Amy Sherrill arrived on the scene and at that time she admitted she had a controlled substance “stuffed in her bra.”
A crystalline substance weighing about 3.5 grams and identified in the report as being meth was given to the officers and both suspects were transported to Justice Center for booking. The dog was released to Morgan’s sister.
Morgan awaits an appearance in General Sessions Court, charged with possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. As of late last week, she was in jail in lieu of bond.
No bond was set for Whited’s probation violation pending an appearance in court and bond on the failure to appear warrant is set at $6,000.