A vehicle cruising around motels with “high criminal narcotic activity” has led to the arrest of a Bethpage, Tenn. man on drug charges, Sunday.
James Hines, 37, of a Hog Hollow Road address in Bethpage, was booked into the Hamilton County Jail, charged with Possession of Schedule II drugs and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $7,000. It is unclear when he is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court.
According to a police report, an officer saw a black Mitsubishi behind the Roadway Inn in the 6700 block of Ringgold Road. The vehicle was parked away from other cars and was occupied by Hines and a woman. The officer made contact with the people in the car. Hines said that their motel room was crowded with people and they had come out to the car to talk. The report states that the officer told the pair that they were in an area where a lot of criminal narcotic activity takes place and asked them to be “mindful of their surrounds.” The officer continued on patrol.
James Hines
According to the report, about 45 minutes later the same officer saw the same vehicle traveling down Ringgold Road. It pulled into the east side of the lot at Mapco, adjacent to the Waverly Motel. The report states that this motel is another with extremely high narcotic traffic. When the Mitsubishi pulled into the lot the officer noticed the car’s tag lamp was not functioning.
According to the report, the officer pulled into a parking lot across the street and watched the car for about 20 minutes. Nobody entered or exited the car during that time. An additional officer was called to the scene.
The two police officers then pulled into the Mapco and made contact with Hines and the woman. The report states that an officer spoke with Hines and informed him that his tag lamp was not functioning. The officer asked Hines if there were any illegal narcotics in his car, to which he responded in the negative. The report states that the officer told Hines that he found his behavior to be suspicious; parking behind two motels where drug dealing is sometimes done.
The officer asked to search Hines’ vehicle to which the man refused. As the officer wrote Hines a warning citation for not having an illuminated tag lamp, a drug dog was brought in by the Chattanooga Police Department. The K9, Duko, alerted officers to narcotics coming from the passenger side of the vehicle, the report states. A search of the car revealed a bag of methamphetamine in a wallet on the passenger floor board. A black bag containing a glass pipe was found under the driver’s seat.
A search of Hines revealed he was carrying a bag of meth in his front left pocket. Hines told officers that the drugs and the pipe was his and his female companion had no knowledge of the narcotics.
Hines was arrested and his car was towed to an impound lot.
