On a busy Olive Branch intersection, a 20-year-old man, Jermel James Moore, was found asleep at the wheel, leading to a barricade situation and his subsequent arrest on various charges. The Olive Branch Police Department (OBPD) was alerted to a vehicle stopped in traffic around 8 p.m. last Saturday, as reported by WREG. Law enforcement officers encountered a rifle on Moore's lap and the smell of marijuana emanating from the car when they probed further with flashlights, hindered initially by the vehicle's dark window tint.
Officers then placed stop sticks under the car and retreated, waiting for backup from the OBPD and the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office before further action was taken. Not responding to instructions delivered through a PA system, Moore's car crawled ahead, stopping on Craft Road north of the intersection, detailed by Local Memphis.
Following the refusal to exit the vehicle, a beanbag round broke the car's back window. A strong presence of alcohol, as well as the rifle, was confirmed inside the car when officers peered through the shattered glass. It was through this breach that a drone was later deployed, startling Moore awake, who then moved his vehicle to a Walgreens parking lot, according to a DeSoto County News report.
The operation concluded without incident with Moore's detention, and he faces charges including possession of a controlled substance enhanced by a firearm, possession of drug paraphernalia, and traffic obstructions. The disoriented driver, Moore, is scheduled to appear in court on January 30, as captured by MDOT cameras during the hours-long standoff, WREG added this detail.
