Traffic stop in Barbour County leads to 3 pounds of marijuana

Barbour County Sheriff’s deputies seized about 3 pounds of marijuana and arrested a Florida man Tuesday night during a traffic stop on U.S. 431 near Eufaula, said Chief Deputy Eddie Ingram.

Investigators arrested Brannon Lee Gray, 22, of Panama City, Fla., and charged him with felony trafficking marijuana. Gray is being held in the Barbour County Jail without bond.

Deputies stopped Gray around 8:15 p.m. just north of Eufaula in the southbound lane of U.S. 431 for suspicion of driving under the influence after they saw the 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck weaving on the roadway, Ingram said. Deputies smelled a “strong odor” from insdie the vehicle, and found the marijuana hidden underneath a seat. Deputies also seized drug paraphernalia and a bullet proof vest during the arrest.

Gray was traveling home to Florida from a trip to Cartersville, Ga., where he had visited family, he told investigators.

“The first thing he told me was that he was a combat medic in the Army,” Ingram said. “The only statement he made was ‘I’ve hit hard times lately, and I was trying to make ends meet’. “