Two suspects who swapped ID’s during a traffic stop were carrying drugs and firearms, according to the sheriff’s office.
Both were also out on bail for felony drug and weapons charges.
Rasheed Javon Mason, 28, and Lamar Tyshoun Parker, 19, were on Railroad Street in Chadbourn when a deputy noticed that Parker was not wearing a seatbelt. Parker allegedly gave the deputy Mason’s driver’s license – but a records check showed Mason was wanted on an outstanding warrant.
The deputy saw a set of scales in plain view in the vehicle, the sheriff’s office reported, and initiated a search of the car after the two suspects were detained. In the center console, the deputy discovered three bags of marijuana, and a handgun under the driver’s seat. Behind the driver’s seat, a black bag contained heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, packaging materials, and another loaded firearm. Additional marijuana was located in the front driver area.
Parker was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed handgun, giving fictitious information to an officer, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine; trafficking in cocaine; and drug paraphernalia. He was also given two traffic citations. Parker’s bond was set at $1 million secured.
Mason was charged with failure to appear on a misdemeanor, and released on $500 bond within 30 minutes, the sheriff’s office said.
He was then picked up July 27 in Tabor City.
Tabor City Police reported that Mason was stopped while traveling 74 in a 55 mile per hour zone around 1:45 a.m. The report said that the officer could immediately smell marijuana when he approached the vehicle, and Mason was “extremely nervous” and “overly excited and friendly in a manner that is abnormal for drivers.”
Mason reportedly tried to close the window and lock the door when he was asked to exit the vehicle. Inside the Silverado pickup officers found a Smith and Wesson MP40 handgun with one magazine, a Del-Ton AR pattern rifle that was reported stolen, marijuana blunts and burned marijuana residue in a “Bob Marley” cup, an open bottle of Hennessey cognac, additional marijuana, and an unlabeled prescription bottle with 17 oxycodone tablets. Mason was charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, trafficking in opiates; possession of marijuana; paraphernalia, possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and having alcohol in the passenger area of a vehicle.
Mason listed his address as 708 Pinewood Dr., Whiteville.
He was released on $46,000 bond, then arrested July 29 on a parole violation. Mason is currently being held under no bond.
Parker was previously arrested in January during Operation Submit A Tip. At that time he was charged with felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana, drug paraphernalia, maintaining a vehicle for drug activities, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, and carrying a concealed weapon. He was released on $40,000 secured bond the next day.
While free on bond, Parker allegedly fled a Highway Patrol stop in Whiteville on May 26, leading officers on a wild chase that ended when he struck a vehicle head-on, injuring two adults and several children. One of the children was airlifted from the scene.
The driver that he struck, Anita Adams, was carrying not only her grandchildren but groceries for a Memorial Day luncheon honoring veterans.
He was charged with multiple traffic violations, and a judge raised his bond to $140,750, but Parker was later released after posting the bond.
