By Jeremy Pittari, Item Staff Writer
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
Two traffic stops conducted by Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department deputies led to the discovery of cocaine and LSD.
The first case was uncovered on Nov. 2, when Detective Daniel Quave saw a vehicle driving carelessly along Jackson Landing Road, said Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier.
Quave conducted a stop on the vehicle for the traffic violation and found 48-year-old David Busby of 3007 Jackson Landing Rd., behind the wheel, Saucier said. While talking with Busby, Quave noticed a clear plastic bag in the vehicle’s open ash tray containing a white powder substance, prompting a seizure of the bag, Saucier said.
The powder in the bag tested positive for cocaine in a field test done on the spot, leading to Busby being charged with not only careless driving but possession of cocaine as well, Saucier said.
A second case was uncovered during a traffic stop on Nov. 4, when a deputy on patrol came into contact with a pair of individuals from Florida, the chief investigator said. Saucier said the driver was identified as 28-year-old Jacob Morgan of 28 Palmetto Dr., Mary Esther, Fla., who was acting nervously, which prompted the deputy to ask for consent to search the vehicle. Saucier said permission was granted and Morgan and his passenger, 67-year-old Gary Upshaw of 5607 Tulane Ave., Pensacola, Fla., were asked to get out of the vehicle while the search was conducted.
Saucier said during the search of the Toyota Tacoma that Morgan was driving, the deputy located 150 doses of LSD and $6,000 in cash.
Morgan and Upshaw were both charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and the cash and the vehicle were seized by the Sheriff’s Department, Saucier said.
It is suspected the LSD was bound for the Picayune area, but the case is still under investigation, Saucier said.
