ROGERSVILLE — A Rogersville restaurant parking lot that has been identified by narcotics investigators as a location often used for illegal drug sales was the site last week of a marijuana drug sting involving an undercover officer, a teenager and a Rogersville man.
The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit conducted a drug investigation Thursday night that involved a male who contacted an undercover agent and offered to sell him marijuana.
Narcotics Unit Lt. Chad Gillenwater said the undercover agent placed an order for a felony amount of marijuana at which time the male agreed to deliver the marijuana to the agent in the Sonic Restaurant parking lot on East Main Street across from the Park Boulevard intersection.
“Narcotics officers set up surveillance on the Sonic parking lot, and minutes later a gold Infinity pulled into the lot with two males in the vehicle,” Gillenwater said. “An occupant of the vehicle then telephoned the undercover agent and told him where he was sitting. Narcotics agents then observed a male, who was later identified to be a 17-year-old juvenile, get out of the gold Infinity and open the passenger’s door of the undercover agent’s vehicle.”
Gillenwater added, “As the male juvenile began to get into the undercover officer’s vehicle, other narcotics officers approached him on foot and identified themselves. The male juvenile then threw an approximately one-ounce plastic bag of marijuana and took off running. Narcotics officers gave chase, and the juvenile suspect and the ounce of marijuana were taken into custody.”
The driver of the gold Infinity was identified as Matthew Allen Hale, 21, 106 Colonial Hills Drive, Rogersville.
Gillenwater said it was determined that Hale was present when the drug transaction was being arranged and he had knowledge that the juvenile was in possession of the ounce of marijuana he allegedly planned on selling to the undercover officer.
It was also alleged that Hale had given the juvenile a ride to the Sonic for the sole purpose of completing the marijuana sale.
Because the alleged transaction took place within 1,000 feet of a school zone — Hawkins Elementary and Rogersville Middle — the charges against Hale and the juvenile are enhanced by the Drug Free School Zone Act.
Hale was charged with criminal responsibility for the facilitation of a felony drug offense and violation of the Drug Free School Zone Act.
He was released from the Hawkins County Jail on $5,000 bond with arraignment set for Oct. 1.
The juvenile was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, evading arrest and violation of the Drug Free School Zone Act. He was lodged in a juvenile facility.
The vehicle driven by Hale was seized by Hawkins County Sheriff’s Narcotics Officers.
