Man Attempts to Explain Unusual Bulge in His Crotch Area

Sometimes a bulge is just a bulge and sometimes it is drugs and a digital scale.

A Gwinnett County Police officer made such a discovery during a Sept. 12 traffic stop near the intersection of Fence Road and Dacula Road. Just before 3 a.m., the officer noticed a vehicle traveling with an inoperative right front headlight. The officer conducted a pullover and, upon approaching the vehicle, noticed an odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.


The driver admitted that he and his two passengers had been smoking marijuana. Based on that admission, all three men were asked to step out of the vehicle.

While speaking with one of the passengers -- identified as Devin Bennett, 17, of Dacula -- the officer noticed "an unusual curved bulge" protruding from under the front of Bennett's shorts.

"I asked [Bennett] what was he hiding in his crotch area and he said nothing.  [Bennett] said the unusual bulge in his shorts is his penis," the officer wrote in the report.

The officer patted Bennett down for weapons and felt a hard, metal-type object in Bennett's crotch area. The officer again asked Bennett what he was hiding in his shorts and Bennett attempted to move the officer's hands away. The officer instructed Bennett to remain still while he retrieved the object, which turned out to be a digital scale.

"I shook [Bennett's] pants to ensure he had no other items hidden in his crotch area when a brown plastic bag fell to the ground from his crotch area," the report stated.

The bag, according to the report, contained green, leafy material consistent with the look and smell of fresh marijuana, which was broken into several clumps which were "made readily for weighing and sale."

Bennett was placed under arrest at that time. The driver was issued two traffic citations -- one for the inoperative headlight and another for driving in violation of his class D license restrictions. The driver's mother, who is the owner of the vehicle, was called to the scene to pick up the vehicle. The driver and his passenger were released at the scene.

After being read the Miranda warning, Bennett agreed to speak with officers. Bennett admitted the scale and marijuana were his, but refused to disclose the name of the person who provided him with the marijuana. Bennett was transported to the Gwinnett County Jail where he was booked on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a drug related object. He was released the following day on a $7,000 bond.