MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop E Headquarters - 4947 Highway 67 North - Poplar Bluff, MO 63901


News Release

For further information please contact: Trooper Clark D. Parrott
(573) 840-9500, Ext. 221
0215127
February 15, 2012

EMPHASIS: Traffic Stop On Interstate 55 Results In Drug Arrests


On February 8, 2012, at 9:31 p.m., a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol stopped a 2011 Hyundai Sonata traveling northbound on Interstate 55 in Pemiscot County for a traffic violation. As a result of the traffic stop, two arrests were made for felony drug trafficking.

The driver was identified as Quincley Morris, 52, of St. Louis, Missouri. During the course of the traffic stop, several indicators of criminal activity were observed, causing the trooper to become suspicious. Consent to search the vehicle was requested and denied; therefore, Patrol K-9 Edy was used to perform an exterior sniff of the vehicle. K-9 Edy alerted on the rear area of the vehicle. A subsequent probable cause search revealed three trash bags, each containing four bundles of processed marijuana. The total weight of the marijuana was 150 pounds. Morris and his passenger, Lakecia S. Cole, 32, of East St. Louis, Illinois, were arrested for multiple charges of drug trafficking.

The charges for which Morris and Cole were arrested for are mere accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

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