A Picayune man was arrested earlier this month during a routine traffic stop after a Picayune Police Officer determined the man attempted to dispose of methamphetamine by throwing it out of his car window into the street.

The stop took place on Jan. 5, just before 11:30 p.m. after the officer noticed a vehicle traveling on Memorial Boulevard without the car’s headlights or tail lights on, according to a departmental report.

When the officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop by turning on the patrol vehicle’s blue lights, the suspect vehicle continued west on Memorial Boulevard before turning north onto Highway 11, the report states. In an attempt to make the driver of the suspect vehicle pull over, the officer turned on the patrol vehicle’s siren, after which the driver was seen by the officer throwing something from the window of the vehicle into the street, the report states.

The driver, later identified as 31-year-old Channing Cade Maher of 3470 Highway 43 N., passed the intersection of Bruce Street before pulling to the side of the road, the report states.

While speaking with Maher, the officer noticed the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle, prompting the officer to ask Maher to exit and step to the rear of the car so a search of his person could be conducted for officer safety, the report states.

Back up was requested and once the second officer arrived and Maher gave consent, a search of the vehicle was conducted where a digital scale was located inside, the report states.

While the backup officer watched over Maher, the officer who conducted the stop walked down Highway 11 to recover the item tossed from the suspect vehicle.

The report states that the recovered item was a plastic bag that contained three smaller plastic bags filled with a crystal like substance suspected to be methamphetamine. The evidence was seized and Maher was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, littering, no headlights, and possession of paraphernalia, the report states.