When a Cleveland Police Department officer saw a passenger in a car not wearing a seatbelt, he conducted a traffic stop which led to fentanyl, Xanax and methamphetamine being recovered.
This, according to a 10th Judicial District Drug Task Force report in support of an arrest warrant — which was acquired by the Cleveland Daily Banner — occurred on Wednesday, Feb. 26, in front of the Dollar Tree store on 25th Street.
Driving the green Ford Explorer was Kendrell Dewayne Hunter, 33, of Knoxville; and the passenger was Dayna Renee Crandall, 25, of Lafayette, Georgia, both of whom were arrested by the DTF.
Prior to this traffic stop, DTF agents had observed Hunter, who goes by the nickname "Wolf," driving the vehicle, and a confidential source told a DTF officer that "large amounts of different drugs" were being sold by Hunter out of two rooms at the Rodeway Inn on Georgetown Road.
Surveillance conducted by DTF and the CPD Crime Suppression Unit allegedly placed Hunter and Crandall together, observing the two of them traveling together in the Ford Explorer from the Rodeway Inn.
When they were pulled over on Feb. 26, the CPD officer approached the vehicle and "noted the odor of marijuana coming from the interior of the vehicle," the report notes.
He then asked for Crandall to step out of the vehicle, and she complied. Dispatch found that she had two active warrants for her arrest in Georgia, with extradition, and the officer detained her.
From there, the officer then asked Hunter to step out of the vehicle. "After initially being uncooperative and refusing, [Hunter] eventually complied," the report states.
The odor of marijuana coupled with Hunter's lack of cooperation reportedly led to him being detained, and dispatch then determined that Hunter did not have a valid driver's license.
Accompanied by backup, the officer conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle, an open purse was found on the floor of the vehicle. The contents of the purse included:
• A bag with 7.3 grams of white powder, identified as Mannitol;
• A bag with 64 blue Fentanyl pills;
• A bag of 6.6 grams of methamphetamine;
• A bag with 173 Xanax pills;
• A bag with 24.4 grams of Fentanyl in powder/hard chunk form;
• A bag with 28.5 grams of Fentanyl in powder/hard chunk form;
• A bag of 14 Ecstasy pills;
• A bag of 80 Ecstasy pills;
• A piece of foil with 1 gram of cocaine-base; and
• An Oxycodone pill.
There was also a glass jar with 20 more Ecstasy pills, another gram of Mannitol and small re-sale bags. Digital scales and smoking straws were also recovered.
A loaded handgun, with a round in the chamber, was also found.
Within Hunter's pockets and in the console of the car, two bundles of cash, totaling at $562, were found. Hunter claimed this was money he got as "cash back" while grocery shopping, but CPD found no groceries in the car.
After they were given their Miranda rights, the report states that "Hunter made multiple statements about the property in the vehicle not belonging to him and alluded that it all belonged to Crandall."
Taken to CPD, Crandall agreed to an interview, and said she is "a user of Fentanyl and that she met Hunter through 'networking.'"
According to Crandall, Hunter picked her up in Chattanooga and had been staying with him at the Rodeway Inn. During their time together, "she witnessed Hunter sell drugs to numerous people and at multiple locations," with Hunter having allegedly sold drugs earlier that day at the area of 8th Street and Lang Street.
While the firearm was already in her purse, Crandall stated that it did not belong to her and had been given to her by Hunter. The rest of the items, she said, were placed in her purse "when Hunter noticed he was being stopped by police."
The report states that the CPD officer knows from experience that "it is common for drug dealers to work with others to sell and traffic drugs. It is also common for drug dealers to have others hold their drugs and/or any firearms to avoid detection and/or apprehension by law enforcement."
Hunter and Crandall were each charged with possession of Schedule I (Ecstasy/MDMA) for resale, possession of Schedule II (Fentanyl) for resale, possession of Schedule II (methamphetamine) for resale, possession of Schedule II (cocaine-base) for resale, possession of Schedule IV (Xanax) for resale, felony possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of firearm during commission of dangerous felony and seat belt law violation.
Hunter, who has past felony convictions for weapons and drug violations, was also charged with possession of a firearm by convicted felon.
Both are held without bond in the Bradley County Jail, and will appear in Bradley County General Sessions Court on March 13.
