December 12, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A routine traffic stop Friday, December 8 by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department resulted in the discovery of drugs and charges against two people.
35-year-old Jessica Renee Scruggs of Page Drive, Smithville, who was driving the vehicle, is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while in possession of methamphetamine, driving on a suspended license, and simple possession of a schedule II & III drug.
52-year-old Chad Everete Knowles of the Loop Circle, Smithville was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver.
Bond for Scruggs is $112,500 and Knowles’ bond is $102,500. Both will make a court appearance on the charges December 21.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Friday, December 8 a deputy was patrolling Sparta Highway when he spotted a blue Chevrolet Trailblazer that failed to maintain its lane of travel. The vehicle also bore a silver license plate cover obstructing the tag. The officer conducted a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Scruggs and her passenger, Knowles. After obtaining consent to search, the deputy found several items of drug paraphernalia including pipes and needles containing residue. The search also turned up a a black bag with six individual baggies inside which held a clear crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine with different weight quantities in each bag. The combined total weight of the substances was 17.17 grams. Found in Knowles’ pocket was a scale that could have been used for distributing narcotics. A quarter of an orange pill believed to be suboxone was retrieved from Scruggs’ purse.
During the investigation, Scruggs told the officer she had no driver license and a background check through central dispatch confirmed her license was suspended.
60-year-old Kevin Ray Wilson of Yulonda Hill Road, Smithville is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving on a revoked or suspended license. His bond is $28,500 and he will be in court December 21.
Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, December 9 a deputy was patrolling Midway Road when he spotted an orange Ford Ranger without a license plate. He pulled it over and detected an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When asked if there was any marijuana in vehicle, Wilson, the driver, said he had a little bit on him in his jacket pocket. The deputy then retrieved from Wilson’s jacket pocket, a glove containing a clear baggie which held a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana that weighed 18.7 grams. In the vehicle were several straws and a pipe with residue on them. Central dispatch confirmed that Wilson’s license was suspended for failure to appear in court.
30-year-old Enrique Adelaido Lomas of New Home Road, Dowelltown is charged with altering/falsifying or forging an auto title. His bond is $8,500 and he will be in court January 4.
Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, December 10 a deputy was on East Main Street, Smithville when he spotted a white Cadillac with Lomas in the driver seat. The officer turned around to stop the vehicle, Knowing Lomas’ license were suspended. The deputy pulled over the vehicle at the car wash on East Broad Street and detained Lomas after he got out of the vehicle and started to walk away. After a background check through central dispatch, the officer confirmed that Lomas’ license was suspended for failure to appear on November 4, 2023. The tag on the car was also out of date and had been altered. A sharpie had been used to change the month on the tag from November to December.