An alert East Ridge police officer made a traffic stop on Wednesday which resulted in the arrest of the driver after the officer located drugs in the engine compartment.
According to an affidavit of complaint, Officer Chambers heard loud music coming from a VW Passat in the 4100 block of Ringgold Road. When he caught up with the car and stopped it in the 5100 block, he made contact with the driver, Torrie Cantrell Porter. Porter told the officer the car was his girlfriend’s and he was headed back home on Clemmons Road.
Torrie Porter
The report states that while Officer Chambers was interacting with Porter, Chambers detected “a strong odor of unburned marijuana coming from the vehicle.” The officer searched the vehicle and was unable to find any pot in the passenger area or the trunk. When he turned on the ignition and the air conditioning was blowing into the interior of the Passat, the report states, “air being blown through the vents smelled strongly of marijuana.”
Officer Chambers popped the hood latch and began searching the engine compartment for drugs. When he noticed the top to the fuse box was loose, he opened it up and found a clear plastic baggie of suspected marijuana. In addition Officer Chambers found a second baggie containing suspected Xanax pills and a third bag that appeared to be cocaine. A field test of the white powdery substance tested positive for cocaine.
Porter, 22, was arrested and charged with two counts of Possession of Controlled Substance for Resale and Simple Possession of Marijuana. He is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on June 21.
_ 5425 Oakdale Ave.: Police were dispatched to the address Wednesday on a reported vehicle theft. According to a police report, a 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser was found burned in the woods off Candy Lane in Ringgold, Ga. Georgia authorities located the license plate of the vehicle and confirmed the owner was an East Ridge resident. Police were unable to get anyone to come to the door at the address initially, but were later informed that the owner wanted to speak with police after being informed by his mother that the vehicle had been destroyed in a fire.
The owner told officers that the Toyota was parked in his driveway at 8:30 that evening. He had a friend over who left at 10 p.m. and was unaware at that time if the vehicle was still in his drive. The owner told police that he had a set of keys in the vehicle and a Smith & Wesson snub-nose .357 cal. revolver.
The report states that it is unknown if the keys and revolver were removed from the Toyota prior to it burning. There is no suspect information at this time, the report states.
