Last night, two men found themselves on the wrong side of the law, as they were handcuffed with a hefty supply of nitrous oxide cans in their vehicle. According to information obtained by the Nashville Police Department, Raymond Edwards, a 35-year-old from Cincinnati, OH, and Ty'Juan Dugger, a 28-year-old from Tempe, AZ, had allegedly responded to a flyer advertising nitrous oxide can delivery — a flyer that officers themselves came across over the weekend in the downtown Entertainment District.
The snagging of these two suspects was no chance encounter but rather the result of a planned operation by local law enforcement. EDU officers and Violent Crimes Division detectives coordinated a sting operation to intercept the distribution of the laughing gas. When Edwards and Dugger surfaced downtown, prepared to fulfill what they thought was a legitimate transaction set up online, they were instead greeted by the long arm of the law and immediately arrested.
Their bonds were set at a combined $22,000 — $11,000 each — and reports suggest that the men have been released from custody. In the back seat of their vehicle, officers found not just a couple of canisters but a stockpile; over 51,000 grams worth of nitrous oxide cans were seized, alongside cash and paraphernalia related to drug use. To add fuel to the fire, during the arrest of Edwards, authorities also discovered three joints of marijuana on his person, a find that culminated in an additional charge for drug possession on top of the charges both men face for the sale or delivery of inhaling fumes and drug paraphernalia.
