Traffic stop leads to recovery of drugs, stolen firearm

A routine traffic stop for an illegal left turn and expired registration turned into something more for the Wills Point Police Department Dec. 7, with the discovery of various drugs and the recovery of a .270 caliber Remington Model 700 rifle.

According to a police narrative of the incident, an officer was on a routine patrol through the city about 1 p.m. Dec. 7 when he observed a driver, identified as 26-year old Jeremiah Malcolm Mitchell of Wills Point, “operating a motor vehicle traveling west on US-80 and make a left turn onto South Fourth Street from the right turn.”
The officer initiated a stop for the illegal turn and, upon further inspection, found that the registration for the vehicle was expired and that the insurance had lapsed as well for non-payment.
Prior to the vehicle being towed from the scene, the officer initiated an inventory of the vehicle that uncovered a “strong odor of marijuana.”
The officer located a cigarette pack with marijuana near the front dash area of the vehicle, and began a more thorough probable cause search.
During the search, the officer recovered a prescription bottle with a different patient’s name on the label, a clear bag with “six orange and white capsules,” more marijuana and a Remington rifle in the back seat that was “confirmed stolen out of Bexar County.”

Mitchell was transported to Van Zandt County Jail on several charges, including theft/possession of a stolen firearm, two charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.
Bonds were set at $10,000 on each individual charge.