Spit or be tazed

Aug. 23– A suspiciously bulging mouth led to the arrest of two men on drug charges Sunday, according to Savannah police.

Patrolman Charles Childers said he stopped a black 1992 Chevy pickup truck on Shell Street around 6 p.m. for a traffic violation, finding the license tag did not match the vehicle.

"The passenger of the vehicle had a large lump in his cheek. I instructed the subject not to swallow or he would be tazed," the officer’s report states.

The passenger, Norris B. Williams, 47, 200 South St., spit out two plastic bags. He also had a pill bottle with 15 off-white, rock-like items in it, Childers said.

The patrolman reported Williams denied the items were his and claimed the driver "threw the drugs on him" as he stopped for the police car, telling him to "run with it."

Williams said he told the driver, Keith L. Stephens, 51, of Grand Junction, Tenn., that he refused to flee.

A cigar packed with marijuana was found in the cup holder and Stephens allegedly admitted to having been smoking it prior to the traffic stop.

Williams and Stephens were both charged with possession of marijuana and Schedule II narcotics (crack).

Stephens is also facing charges of driving on a revoked license and driving an unregistered vehicle.