A traffic stop for an expired registration on Walnut Street in Morgantown on Monday ended with police finding more than 20 grams of suspected cocaine in the vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Morgantown Police Officer Ian Nuzum, when the driver of the Ford Explorer, identified as Michael Lynn Knapp, 49, of Clarksburg, stopped the vehicle, two passengers attempted to get out of the SUV, but were told to remain inside.
As Officer Christopher Mayle began writing a warning for the registration, which expired at the beginning of July, Nuzum stated he had all occupants get out of the vehicle while he and his K9 partner, Beny, conducted a free air sniff around the SUV’s exterior.
Beny alerted the officers to the rear passenger window and the gas cap area, but none of the occupants admitted to having narcotics.
Upon searching the vehicle, officers found a black backpack in the backseat containing a plastic bag with a white, chalky substance. Knapp identified the substance as crack cocaine, and it later field-tested positive for cocaine. The bag weighed approximately 19.48 grams, the complaint said.
Two smaller bags of what appeared to be the same substance weighing 1.04 grams and 0.71 gram were also in the backpack along with a digital scale and multiple empty plastic bags.
Knapp allegedly told officers the bag belonged to him and that he and two unidentified individuals purchased the drugs the previous day for $800.
Knapp was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. He was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court and taken to North Central Regional Jail. Bond was set at $45,000.
One of the vehicle’s passengers, identified as Tania Jo Cordwell, 39, was also taken into custody on an outstanding warrant in Mon County for grand larceny, receiving or transferring stolen property and conspiracy charges in January. Her bond was also set at $45,000.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
