A routine traffic stop on a vehicle with a malfunctioning headlight and broken windshield led to two arrests during the early morning hours on Wednesday.
Deputies with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Zachariah Thornton, 27, of 1465 Riverview Drive, Elizabethton, and charged him with possession of Schedule II drugs for resale. Officers also served Thornton with a warrant charging him with failure to appear. Deputies also arrested Cory Barnes, 27, of 701 Carter Blvd., Elizabethton, and charged him with driving on a suspended license and violation of the light law.
Shortly before 2 a.m., CCSO Deputy Robert Hughes was traveling northbound on Highway 19E when he saw a pickup truck with a broken headlight and “shattered” windshield going in the opposite direction. Hughes turned around and performed a traffic stop on the truck.
Hughes spoke to the driver and identified him as Barnes. Officers identified the vehicle’s passenger as Thornton.
Barnes told the officers his license was revoked or suspended, Hughes said, adding Barnes said he was only driving because Thornton kept “nodding off” while he was behind the wheel and Barnes feared he would pass out while driving.
Hughes said he asked Barnes if there was anything illegal in the vehicle and Barnes replied he did not have authority to grant a search because he did not own the truck but that the truck’s owner had told him not to consent to a vehicle search.
When Hughes checked the status of Barnes’ license he learned it was indeed suspended and a warrant check revealed Thornton was wanted on an outstanding warrant charging him with failure to appear.
Hughes said based on the behavior and comments by Barnes he decided to use his K9 partner Zeke to conduct a K9 sniff of the exterior of the truck. According to Hughes, Zeke alerted to the presence of the odor of illegal narcotics, so a hand search of the vehicle was performed.
During the search, Hughes said he located multiple baggies containing what appeared to be methamphetamine. Hughes tested the substance with a field test kit, and it showed a positive result for methamphetamine.
Both Barnes and Thornton appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court Wednesday morning.
Judge Keith Bowers Jr. released Barnes on an OR (Own Recognizance) bond and scheduled him to return to court on May 9 with his driver’s license.
Bowers took no action in the case against Thornton and scheduled him to return to court on Friday.