The driver and suspect arrested on drug charges after a traffic stop in Mount Vernon now face a felony drug indictment. The suspects were indicted on aggravated trafficking in drugs on July 1, a week after their arrest.
According to a press release from Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan, officers with the Mount Vernon Police Department Patrol Division made a traffic stop near Mount Vernon Avenue and Clay Street on June 23. A K9 unit positively alerted to narcotics in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle after the driver and passenger were removed revealed 300 grams—nearly three-fourths of a pound—of suspected methamphetamine, cash, and drug paraphernalia. The estimated street value of the drugs was $11,000.
The driver of the vehicle, Judy McCloskey, and the passenger, Steven Garrad, were arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated trafficking in drugs, according to Morgan. Both suspects were indicted by a Knox County Grand Jury on July 1 on the charge of aggravated trafficking in drugs presented by the Knox County Prosecutor's Office. A major drug offender specification was included with the charges because of the quantity of drugs seized.
Morgan stated that the suspects were incarcerated in the Knox County Jail. Bond was set at $100,000 cash, no 10%. The Mount Vernon Police Department is a member of the METRICH Drug Enforcement Task Force.
