A pair of separate stops conducted on July 26 by Picayune Police officers for simple traffic violations led to arrests for drug violations.

Assistant Chief of Police Jeremy Magri said that at about 6:30 a.m. officers were dispatched to Interstate 59 south in reference to a white GMC truck being driven recklessly. Officers arrived to the area and found a truck matching the description and a Louisiana tag was provided to dispatch. Officers observed the truck swerve across the center-line several times, Magri said.

Officers stopped the vehicle at about the four-mile marker and found Brandon Bishop, 26, 19233 S. Trent Jones Drive, Baton Rouge, La. inside. While speaking with Bishop, the officers noticed his eyes were dilated and he was behaving strangely, Magri said. Officers asked Bishop to step out of the vehicle and noticed that he was shaking uncontrollably and mumbled as he spoke, Magri said.

Due to his appearance and behavior, officers asked for consent to search the vehicle. After Bishop gave consent, a search of the vehicle found a gray glasses case under the front driver’s seat containing a clear glass pipe, a plastic bag with a clear crystal-like substance officers believed to be methamphetamine, and another bag with a white substance believed to be heroin, Magri said.

Bishop was transported to the Criminal Justice Center where officers conducted a more thorough search and found another plastic bag with what they believed to be methamphetamine on his body, Magri said.

Bishop was arrested for two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia and given a citation for careless driving Magri said.

Later that same day, another arrest was made at the intersection of Highway 11 and Seal St., Magri said. At about 9 p.m., officers stopped the driver of a silver truck for an expired tag and for swerving across the white line several times.

Officers then spoke with the driver, identified as Jason Pearson, 43, 1000 Restoration Way, Kiln, Magri said. Pearson was asked to provide a driver’s license and proof of insurance. While he was unable to provide a license, when he opened the glove compartment to find proof of insurance, officers saw a pill bottle in the compartment, Magri said. As officers spoke to Pearson, he seemed unusually nervous. The presence of the pill bottle in addition to Pearson’s behavior prompted the officers to request consent to search the truck, which led to the discovery of a syringe beneath the arm rest and another inside the armrest. Inside the armrest they also located a cut straw, often used to ingest controlled substances, lined with a suspicious residue, Magri said.

Officers also found a black pouch with three small folded pieces of aluminum foil containing a white powder officers believed to be either heroin or cocaine Magri said.

Pearson was arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia, Magri said.