What began as a traffic stop for illegally tinted windows ended with three people under arrest on drug charges.
Union County Sheriff David Taylor announced Monday that a man who he described as “one of the biggest marijuana suppliers in the City of Union” was among three people arrested as a result of a traffic stop that took place Friday afternoon on North Pinckney Street. Taylor said the three arrested were Demorris Keshun Davis, 21, 110 Hart St., Union; James Keith Hardy, 25, 512 S. Pinckney St., Union; and Inez Mills Hall, 73, 204 Cabin St., Union. He said that Davis, Hardy, and Hall are each charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana while Davis is also charged with having an illegal window tint.
Taylor said the incident began at approximately 2:15 p.m. Friday on North Pinckney Street when a deputy conducted a traffic stop for illegal tint on a white Dodge Charger driven by Davis with Hardy in the front passenger seat. Narcotics officers were then dispatched to the scene in response to complaints they’d received about Davis selling marijuana. When they questioned Davis and Hardy, Taylor said the narcotics officers noticed that the two men were very nervous and would not make eye contact with them. They then asked Davis and Hardy if there was any marijuana in the car and both men said no.
Officers then asked for and received permission from Davis to search the car. Taylor said the ensuing search turned up a black backpack in the trunk which contained several plastic bags, digital scales, and a quantity of marijuana. Davis and Hardy were then read their Miranda rights and officers then asked Davis who the marijuana belonged to. Taylor said Davis initially said he didn’t know and then said it was his and then said he had nothing further to say to the officers. Davis and Hardy were then placed under arrest and transported to jail where the were booked.
Taylor said that as Hardy was changing into jail attire, jailers discovered marijuana in his underwear. In addition to the marijuana, Taylor said deputies also seized $1,393 in cash from Davis and $322 in cash from Hardy.
As a result of the complaints they’d received about Davis dealing marijuana, Taylor said narcotics officers had already obtained a search warrant for 204 Cabin St. where Davis had been living with Hall, his grandmother. While executing the search warrant, Taylor said officers found a bag of marijuana and money along with Davis’ driver’s license on a cabinet in the bedroom.
Taylor said it was at this point that Hall became irate and began accusing officers of planting drugs in her house. Hall was then placed under arrest for the marijuana found in her home. The search of the premises continued and Taylor said officers found a large plastic bag containing approximately one pound of marijuana inside another black backpack in the backseat of a black Chevy Caprice parked in Hall’s yard.
As a result of the digital scales and all the marijuana — some of it Taylor described as being packaged for sale — found by the narcotics officers, Davis, Hardy and Hall were all charged possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Taylor said that a check of Davis’ record revealed that this was his third drug offense. He said that the complaints his office had received and the information narcotics officers had collected implicated Davis as being a major supplier of marijuana.
“Intel we received indicated that he is one of the biggest marijuana suppliers in the City of Union,” Taylor said. “He basically had a pound of marijuana that he had not individually packaged for distribution. Both he and Hardy had some marijuana that had already been packaged for distribution.”
Taylor commended the narcotics officers who had been working the case along with the deputy who initiated the traffic stop. As he has in the past, Taylor drew a link between the drug trade and other crimes in Union County and reiterated his determination to fight crime by fighting drug trafficking.
“My officers will continue to fight the drug problems in this county that are a direct connection to the property crimes that are happening in this county,” Taylor said.
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