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Traffic Stop Nets Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Arrest

Zaqurious Lamont Armstrong

A 30-year-old Wolfe City man was arrested at 7:13 p.m. July 3 on State Highway 11 west for possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance.

Hopkins County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Davis first became aware of the man because he was driving a Chevrolet Malibu without a front license plate on State Highway 11 west Wednesday evening. As the deputy began following the car, he alleged, it quickly turned into a residential driveway.

The deputy contacted the driver and noted he could immediately smell a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle and observed a green, leaf-like substance he believed to be marijuana in plain view. Davis reportedly obtained consent to search the car. Suspected marijuana cigarettes were found in the console along with marijuana, several baggies of the kind typically used for packaging of illegal narcotics in both the console and driver’s side floorboard, and a white torn paper bag with a crystal-like substance he believed to be methamphetamine in an open compartment on top of the dash, Davis alleged in arrest reports.

The man in the car, identified in arrest reports as Zaqurious Lamont Armstrong of Wolfe City, was arrested for possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance. Closer inspection revealed the license plate on the car also belonged to another vehicle, according to arrest reports.

Armstrong was released from the county jail July 4 on $5,000 bond on the controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.


License plate violations also resulted in two other traffic stops and two arrests for marijuana possession, according to arrest reports.

A Garland man, 58, was stopped at 2:16 p.m. July 3 by state troopers on Interstate 30 at mile marker 129 for a license plate violation on a Jeep Grand Cherokee and ended up in jail for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. On contact, the highway patrol trooper reported smelling a marijuana odor in the vehicle. A probable cause search yielded marijuana in a glass jar in a backpack, resulting in his arrest Wednesday afternoon, according to arrest reports.

He remained in the county jail Friday. Bond was set at $1,000 on the misdemeanor marijuana charge, according to jail reports.


At about 12:15 a.m. July 4, Sulphur Springs police stopped a Toyota Rav 4 on Oak Avenue for an unreadable license plate and because the vehicle’s third brake light was not working, and arrested the passenger for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana.

Police reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle as they contacted the occupants. Officers asked the man to step out of the vehicle. Police alleged they could see a clear bag with what appeared to marijuana inside of it in the 30-year-old Cooper man’s pocket. The man was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana charge; the driver was released, according to police reports.

He was released from jail July 4 on $1,000 bond on the charge, according to jail reports.

Author: KSST Contributor

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