A routine traffic stop led to the arrest of Devius Lyles for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute on Wednesday. Bainbridge Public Safety officer Jason Myers pulled over a Dodge 1500 pick-up truck at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Chestnut Street after observing that the vehicle did not have working brake lights.

After pulling over the vehicle, it was determined that the driver, Mark Warren, was driving on a suspended license. He was placed under arrest by Myers and officer George McMillan who had arrived on the scene to assist.

After securing Warren in the back of the patrol car, the officers asked Lyles to exit the vehicle where he was sitting in the passenger seat. According to the incident report, after officers asked him if he had any illegal items in his possession, Lyles began “making abnormal body movements and kept looking in different directions” making Myers nervous.

According to the report, Lyles repeatedly denied that he had any contraband on his person, but Myers asked Lyles for permission to search his person due to his nervous body language.

Lyles reportedly consented to the search, but repeatedly became agitated when officers attempted to search his front/center waistband area.  Officers where forced to restrain Lyles with handcuffs in order to perform the search. According to the report, the officers found a bag containing suspected crack cocaine on Lyles’ person and a second bag in his seat in the vehicle.

Lyles was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession within 1000 feet of a public or private school.