FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2003

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN (803) 896-8409

HIGHWAY PATROL, STATE TRANSPORT POLICE

SEIZE DRUGS, ARREST FUGITIVE

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety State Transport Police and Highway Patrol divisions seized more than 10 pounds of marijuana, other drugs and made several arrests in four separate drug cases resulting from routine traffic stops since July 14.

A trooper stopped an SUV in Cherokee County on I-77 for speeding and discovered 10 pounds of marijuana in the rear compartment of the vehicle. The driver, Marvin R. Smith of Franklin, N.C., and a passenger were charged with marijuana trafficking. The vehicle, a 1992 Ford SUV, also was seized.

Earlier Tuesday, members of the State Transport Police’s STAR unit (Strategic Traffic Alcohol Radar) stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Interstate 85. A check of the driver’s information revealed that the driver was a fugitive from justice. Willie Ray Jackson of Deltona, Fla., was wanted in that state on drug charges and probation violations. Officers also found a small amount of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and an assortment of pills in Jackson’s vehicle.

On Monday, a member of the Patrol’s ACE team stopped a vehicle for speeding on Interstate 95 in Clarendon County and found a small amount of marijuana. The driver, Michael Brown Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla., was charged with simple possession. Also, on Interstate 20 in Lexington County Tuesday, another ACE team unit stopped a vehicle and discovered three pounds of marijuana wrapped in clear plastic stuffed in a black shopping bag. The driver Amos Givens Jr. of Summerville, S.C., was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

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SG/64/03