Smokescreen Tactic Drew Suspicions During Stop on I-85

A Gwinnett Police officer making a traffic stop on I-85 near Hamilton Mill grew suspicious when he saw both people in a Honda Accord light up cigarettes.

“Based on my experience this is a technique that is sometimes used to mask the odor of marijuana,” the officer wrote in the incident report from Feb. 17.

Police stopped the car, driven by a Florida man, because it was driving erratically.

The officer wrote in the report that there was a build up of cigarette smoke when he reached the car. The driver said his erratic driving as due to difficulty reading the GPS system.

The officer checked IDs and found the passenger, from Lawrenceville, had an outstanding traffic warrant against him. Police found a glass marijuana pipe stuffed in the console and another glass pipe in the cup holder that tested positive for methamphetamine.

The driver admitted to ownership of pipes, according to the incident report.

Dempsey Robert Sapp of Jacksonville was charged with possession of meth, possession of drug-related item, and cited for failure to maintain lane.