By GLEN WERLING
Three people were arrested following a traffic stop on North Main Street early Sunday morning.
David C. Elam III, 35, Houston Texas, Quintarius C. Mason, 28, Ruleville, Miss., and Tavaris Charles Blount, 32, Miami Gardens, Fla., are all facing drug related charges.
A Bluffton police officer was patrolling north on Main Street at 1:20 a.m. Sunday when he observed a northbound 2022 Chrysler Pacifica that did not have its lights on and pulled it over in the parking lot of the Villa North Mall.
While speaking with the driver, identified as Elam, the officer reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the interior of the vehicle. Elam admitted he and his companions, Blount and Mason, had just been at the Stag Bar and were on their way back to the motel room at The Comfort Inn.
Elam reportedly did not have a driver’s license in his possession — only a Texas identification card. He also allegedly admitted to the officer to having smoked marijuana about two hours earlier.
Mason reportedly had an active warrant for his arrest out of Lancaster County, Pa. He was placed under arrest.
A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up plastic bags containing marijuana and a “blunt” — a marijuana cigar — inside the vehicle.
Elam was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in his body, a Class C misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having received a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor; and improper or no taillights, a Class C infraction.
Mason and Blount were each charged with possession of marijuana — a Class B misdemeanor. Elam’s bond was set at $2,000.
Both Blount and Mason were released on their own recognizance.
glenw@news-banner.com
