Martin resident arrested for multiple drug charges after traffic stop
Mark Carlton
Story by Press Reporter Shannon Taylor
On Oct. 15 Dep. Gary Eddings stopped a four-door passenger vehicle on Mt. Vernon Road in Sharon for failure to drive within the roadway lane. When Eddings came into contact with the driver, Mark S. Carlton, age 61, he informed him on why he was pulling him over and detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.
When Eddings asked Carlton about the smell, Carlton responded, “yeah, it was from earlier.” Eddings then asked if there was any more inside the vehicle and Carlton handed him two large clear plastic bags containing marijuana which came from another plastic bag laying in the driver’s floorboard.
Eddings then asked Carlton to step outside of the vehicle due to the fact that his passenger, Glenda Burnham, was getting loud and being distraught over Carlton being stopped.
After Eddings spoke with Carlton outside the vehicle he informed him that he was going to search the rest of the vehicle for any other drugs that might be in it. Carlton then told Eddings that there was some more in the yellow bag in the driver’s floorboard.
Eddings found a green zipper bag which contained other smaller baggies inside it. One small baggie contained a brown sugar like substance, and it was later field tested to be heroin weighing 0.25 grams.
Eddings also found several crystal-like rocks, believed to be meth, in a metal box along with other small bags of white crystal powder. Along with the narcotics found, several smoking meth pipes were also found.
Sgt. Shannon Neal located a marijuana grinder, rolling papers, straws containing powder and another small bag of meth in a fishing tackle box. The total amount of meth found was 10.06 grams.
Carlton also had several .22 caliber rounds of ammo in his pockets and a .22 caliber long gun in the back seat of the vehicle.
The vehicle was then released to the passenger and Carlton was transported to Weakley County Sheriff’s Department and charged with Possession of Schedule I, Possession of Schedule II, Possession of Schedule VI, Possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to drive within the lane.
