By Pat Culverhouse

Failure to obey traffic laws has landed a Minden man in more serious trouble with the law after officers discovered a quantity of illegal narcotics in his possession during a traffic stop.

Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver said Patrick Jackson, 49, who resides in the 100 block of Lorex Rd., was originally pulled over for at least three violations. When the suspect displayed suspicious behavior, backup was called to the scene, the chief said.

“Officer Ben Sparks called for assistance and Lt. Chris Hammontree responded,” McIver said. “As Officer Sparks talked with the suspect, Lt. Hammontree approached from the passenger side of the vehicle and immediately spotted a large amount of methamphetamine in plain view on the floor beneath the driver’s feet.”

During a search of the vehicle, the officers found methamphetamine on the floor indicating the suspect had apparently been attempting to destroy evidence by stuffing it under the carpet, McIver said.

In addition to the drugs found scraped into the floor of the vehicle, McIver said officers also found several small bags containing more methamphetamine. A total of 19.71 grams of meth was collected from inside the vehicle, the chief said.

Officers reportedly also found a scale commonly used for weighing narcotics and 12 sandwich bags commonly used to package illegal narcotics.

Jackson is facing charges of possession of CDS Sch. II (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction justice, driving under suspension for DUI and four traffic violations.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.