Deputy's keen eye comes in 'handy,' leads to drug bust
ROANOKE RAPIDS (WTVD) -- A routine traffic stop turned into a drug bust when a deputy noticed something unusual.
Capt. A.M. Harris with the Halifax County Sheriff's Office stopped a vehicle Friday afternoon on Highway 48 near Sunnydale.
During the consent search of the passenger, Harris noticed the man would not spread his fingers apart.
The keen-eyed deputy soon found out why: crack cocaine.
Harris also found a silver homemade crack pipe.
Gerald Wayne Tart, 46, of Roanoke Rapids, was taken into custody.
Tart was arrested and charged with felony possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was given $1,000 bond and confined to the Halifax County Detention Center.
The driver, Jessica Lynn Byrd, 32, of Roanoke Rapids, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Tart and Byrd have an April 27 court date.
