Picayune Police made an arrest for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute while in possession of a firearm at a safety check point on Monday, May 4.

At approximately 3:05 p.m. detectives with the Narcotics Unit and other members of the department made contact with Deria Brown, 28, of 715 South Haugh Ave., Apt. K87, at a safety check point near the intersection of North Beech Street and Westchester Drive, according to a press release from Assistant Chief Dustin Moeller.

Detectives smelled marijuana through the driver’s side window while speaking with Brown, the release states. The detectives asked Brown to pull his vehicle to the right off of the road. According to the release, Brown pulled his vehicle to the side but not fully out of the road, so detectives asked him to fully exit the road.

The release states that detectives were able to see through the vehicle’s rear window as Brown turned his body and grabbed something from the back seat while he pulled the vehicle forward.

When detectives asked Brown to step out of the vehicle, he said “I’ll be out in a minute,” the release states. Concerned about officer safety, detectives opened the driver’s side door and observed a pistol, later identified as a .40 caliber Springfield XD-40, in Brown’s front left pocket. According to the release, Brown attempted to take the pistol from his pocket, but detectives subdued him before he could get the pistol out of the pocket.
Brown was taken out of the vehicle and placed in handcuffs.

In a search of the vehicle, police found another firearm, a Diamondback AR-15, on the rear floorboard and a glass jar that contained marijuana in the trunk, states the release. Brown was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute while in possession of a firearm.