A routine checkpoint on Will Baker Road turned up something less than routine for Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office Deputies — 40 pounds of marijuana.
LCSO Maj. Ryan Dawson wrote in a statement that deputies later found 6 more pounds of marijuana at the home of the suspect, Jimmy Dale Britt, 60, and confiscated about $10,000 in suspected drug-related cash.
The checkpoint was part of the Community Crime Reduction Team program begun in 2011 to work with neighborhood watch groups and connect with areas of the community to reduce crime.
“One of these enforcement techniques involves driver license checking stations to ensure compliance with motor vehicle laws,” the statement said. “In many instances, enforcing various motor vehicle laws evolves into more serious criminal violations.”
While Britt, a Grifton resident, had his driver’s license examined, a deputy detected the aroma of marijuana. Deputies followed the smell to Britt’s trunk, where the statement said they made the “unusual” discovery of four 10-pound bales of marijuana.
Britt was arrested and placed in the Lenoir County Detention Center under a $55,000 bond. He’s charged with trafficking marijuana by possession and trafficking marijuana by transport along with maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances.
Britt served prison time for another drug conviction, according to the state Department of Public Safety, when he was convicted on Nov. 18, 2002 of trafficking a Schedule II controlled substance. Britt entered prison on Dec. 4, 2002 and left Craven Correctional Institution on Oct. 12, 2005.
He also had two misdemeanor convictions for driving while impaired in 1991.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
