By Pat Culverhouse

A Monroe man heading west and driving well above the speed limit on I-20 found himself taking a detour to the parish prison after illegal drugs were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver said 28-year-old Jaquarius Jamal Cahill is charged with speeding, possession of CDS Sch. I (marijuana) with intent to distribute, and as a fugitive from Ouachita Parish.

He is being held at Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center under a $10,000 bond.

McIver said MPD officer Branthony Brown stopped Cahill’s Mercedes Benz just after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and after approaching the vehicle, recognized a strong odor of suspected marijuana.

When the officer asked Cahill if he had drugs inside, he reportedly acknowledged that he did. During a search of the vehicle, the officer reportedly found 12 individual plastic bags containing approximately 10 grams of natural marijuana inside a bag on the back seat.

Slightly less than a gram of marijuana rolled in rolling papers was also reportedly found inside a glass jar inside the bag. After the suspect was taken to police headquarters, police learned Cahill also had an active arrest from Ouachita Parish.

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.