Traffic stop produces marijuana

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 5, 2004

AHOSKIE – During a routine vehicle stop Sunday, Ahoskie officers B. Knowles and R. Skinner approached a white automobile with several subjects inside that did not pass through the stop.

&uot;The driver had pulled into a driveway,&uot; Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh stated. &uot;When the officers approached the vehicle, they reported they smelled what they believed to be marijuana and they asked the driver to cut the car off.&uot;

Once the officers were able to get all the passengers out, Fitzhugh said they asked consent to search the vehicle.

&uot;They were given consent to search,&uot; Fitzhugh said. &uot;And as they were talking with the passengers, one person in the back, Walter Lavoe Lassiter, 21, of 303 Beechwood Blvd., Murfreesboro, appeared to have some type of soiled spot on his shirt.

&uot;The officers asked what it was and the suspect told them it was some type of shake. They then became suspicious to his actions and asked the suspect for his consent to search his person.

&uot;He consented and the officers found a small plastic bag stuck inside his shoe that had some type of green, leafy substance in it that the officers believed to be marijuana,&uot; the chief continued.

Lassiter was charged with misdemeanor possession and was placed under a $500 secured bond.

No one else was charged in the incident.