Murfreesboro Police pulled a man over for not wearing a seatbelt and ended up arresting the subject on felony drug charges. Officer Primas reported that 24-year old Gary D. Jackson was seen driving down North Highland Avenue without a seat belt on and when he turned on his blue lights he wrote, "I then observed the driver move something from the back seat to the front seat."

Once stopped, Officer Primas asked for permission to search the 1994 Mercury, but was denied access. A K9 was called in and the dog alerted to the drivers side door. That was when police conducted what is called a "Probable Cause Search."

Probable cause is a reasonable belief that a person has committed or will commit a crime. For probable cause to exist, a police officer must have sufficient knowledge of facts to warrant a belief that a suspect is committing a crime. The belief must be based on factual evidence, not just on suspicion. In this case, the evidence was a police K9 alerting to a smell of drugs.

Once in the car, police found close to 14-ounces of marijuana, equal to nearly that of an average can of soda. As a result of the find, Jackson was charged with Felony Possession of Marijuana. He will appear in court on April 14, 2015.

Source:

MPD Arrest report #15-2424