A routine traffic stop for careless driving led to the arrest of a local man for allegedly illegally possessing a weapon and possessing a misdemeanor amount of a controlled substance.

On Nov. 7, just before 5 p.m., narcotics detectives and patrol officers with the Picayune Police Department conducting patrols in the area of South Beech Street and Will Street saw a green truck swerve off the roadway several times, leading to a traffic stop for careless driving, according to a departmental release.

After approaching the vehicle, the officers could detect a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside, resulting in the driver, 25-year-old Malcom Dallas Harvey of 214 S. Steele Ave., being detained. A search of his vehicle found a cigarette pack with several hand rolled cigars filled with a green leafy substance suspected to be marijuana, the release states.

Also in the vehicle, detectives found a loaded Taurus .380 handgun in the glove box. 

A check of his record determined that Harvey’s possession of the weapon was illegal due to a previous conviction, leading to his arrest for possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, the release states.