Picayune Police Department officers worked two drug related incidents earlier in the month.
The first case occurred on Dec. 15 as an off duty officer was walking along West Canal Street. Picayune Police Department Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri said the officer noticed a man, later identified as 30-year-old Chad Hill of 24 Hayes Lane, walking along Quince Street with a small pouch in his hand. The officer then observed Hill place the pouch on top of some bushes at the corner of Quince and Canal Street before returning to a vehicle that had been involved in an accident, Magri said.
Two witnesses then informed the off duty officer that they observed Hill leave the scene of the accident with the pouch in hand. Hill was then detained until an on duty officer arrived. The off duty officer briefed the responding officer of the situation before directing him to the location of the pouch.
Once the pouch was secured a search found seven used syringes, four baggies containing a white residue, a scale and a small metal bowl containing a white rock like substance suspected to be methamphetamine, Magri said. As Hill was being placed into custody the officer noticed a small baggy on the ground near Hill’s feet also containing a substance suspected to be methamphetamine, Magri said. Field tests determined the substances to possibly be methamphetamine, but the substances will be sent to the state crime lab for verification, Magri said.
Hill was charged with two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. The driver of the vehicle, who was identified as 22-year-old Brooklyn Hollaway of 24 Hayes Lane, was charged with driving without a license.
On Dec. 16 officers received reports that a vehicle was driving dangerously in the northbound lane of Interstate 59, Magri said.
Officers responded to the area to find the vehicle in question as it swerved onto the shoulder and then back into traffic, Magri said.
A stop was conducted at about the seven-mile marker, where the officer detected the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle, Magri said.
The driver and passenger were then asked to exit the vehicle, at which time the officer noticed a purple Crown Royal bag on the passenger side floorboard. Magri said inside the bag was a burnt spoon with a powdery substance and a syringe, which was then confiscated.
A pat down of the passenger, identified as 26-year-old Matthew Smith, of 264 White Chapel Rd., Carriere, was conducted, during which a second syringe was found in his waistband, Magri said.
Smith was asked to remove his boots so they could be searched. Magri said in the boots the officer found a plastic bag containing a substance believed to be heroin, leading him to be charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. That substance will also be tested by the crime lab.
The driver of the vehicle, identified as 22-year-old Katelyn Sherill of 43 North Side Dr., Carriere, was cited for careless driving and no insurance and released at the scene.