PALESTINE —
An early morning traffic stop Friday resulted in the arrest of a 22-year-old Palestine man on drug charges.
Robert Bernard Towns, 22, of Palestine was arrested on the state jail felony charge of possession of a controlled substance less than 1 gram early Friday during the course of a traffic stop inside the Palestine city limits, according to Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor.
Towns was additionally arrested on the misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana under 2 ounces, according to the sheriff.
Around 2 a.m. Friday, Taylor said Anderson County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Gordon stopped an “early 1990s model” Mercury Grand Marquis in the 1700 block of North Jackson Street for driving erratically.
“He (Gordon) got behind a vehicle that was driving reckless,” Taylor said. “When he got behind the vehicle, it ran over the curb and almost ran over a telephone pole.”
Once the vehicle stopped, Taylor said the driver, who was later identified as Towns, initially “tried to walk away.”
Sheriff’s Cpl. Gerald Kerr subsequently arrived at the scene to provide backup.
Towns was taken into custody when officers discovered he did not have a driver’s license, the sheriff stated.
Officers then searched Towns’ vehicle, according to the sheriff.
“There was a brown paper bag laying in the front seat of the car,” Taylor said. “There was a blue baggy sticking out of the corner of it.”
Inside the blue baggy was a substance which “field tested positive for cocaine,” the sheriff stated.
“A small amount of marijuana” was also discovered in the vehicle’s seat in the area of the driver, he added.
Two other passengers in the vehicle — a 24-year-old male and a 21-year-old female — were not arrested and released at the scene.
Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com
Local News
Traffic stop results in drug arrest
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