PALESTINE, Ill. - Palestine authorities made a vehicle stop last night that proved to be more than just a traffic violation.
Palestine Police Chief Jeff Besing said that at approximately 9:30 p.m. last night June 13, Officer Brandon Carpenter stopped a vehicle on Route 33 west of CR 1725E for suspicious activity around the Dollar General Store and improper vehicle registration.
In speaking to the driver, identified as Nathan D. O'Dell, 29 of Bridgeport (in Lawrence County), the odor of suspected burnt cannabis was detected on his person.
The Robinson Police Department K-9 unit was called to the scene, which resulted in the positive indication of suspected drug residue near the back seat and trunk of the vehicle.
A search of the vehicle resulted in the finding of a loaded 357 Ruger handgun.
A cursory interview of O'Dell by Chief Besing who was on scene to assist discovered that O'Dell was a convicted felon.
Chief Besing placed O'Dell under arrest for Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon, a Class 3 Felony, and O'Dell was transported to the Crawford County Jail where he was charged and is being held in lieu of bond being set by the judge.