Trooper Makes Drug Bust, Finds Child Laying in the Car

A Tennessee State trooper finds a child unrestrained during a drug bust. Last Thursday morning Tennessee Highway Patorl Trooper John Allen pulled over a driver on Interstate 75 in Bradley County.  A call to 911 had reported the car driving wrecklessly, heading south.  Trooper Allen stopped the car near Paul Huff Parkway and found a 4-year-old child laying across the back seat, without a seatbelt.

But, the trooper also smelled pot. T.H.P. tells us the driver admitted he had some marijuana in the car, the trooper called for back-up and a K-9 cop, which helped him uncover more than $135,000 dollars in cash in a duffle bag, as well as prescription medicines and rolled pieces of marijuana cigarettes in the door of the Jeep, that were half smoked.

The child is in the care of the state and the suspect, Gregory Harris, of Louisiana, is facing a number of charges, includign possession of marijuana with intent to resale, and possession of drug paraphenalia.

T.H.P. Lt. Jeff Mosley says, "One of our troopers spotted it around the 28 mile marker and saw it driving wrecklessly, eradictly."  Then, he says his officer found, " An usually large sum of money with drugs means there is some sort of operation going on, and that's what we think is going on in this situation.  That's a deadly combination, anytime you have children involved in situations like that it's a terrible thing."

Mosley says it's part of a terrible trek too many drug dealers make along highway every day.  He says even though in this stop they found more drug money than drugs every bust helps to break up the drug trafficking along I-75.  "When you talk about amount of money that's seized it's a pretty good size and possibly could lead to other things because that's what we look for is leads to other activity."

Mosley says that Harris admitted he was travelling from Ohio to Atlanta.  But the contents of his car helped the officer crack a piece of the bigger operation.  "A lot of it has to do with what they observe in the vehicle how they answer your questions, every little indicator adds up to the point that you know something suspicious is going on."

Harris has been released on bond.