LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Jesse Lane sits in the Campbell County this morning awaiting a court appearance on Thursday. What started as a simple window tint law violation during a traffic stop evolved into multiple charges and an arrest for the 35-year-old La Follette man.

La Follette Police Officer Anthony Mahar saw Lane traveling east along East Central Avenue in a white Chevrolet on Saturday afternoon. To Mahar, the front side window of the Chevy appeared to be darker than the legal limit. The officer made a traffic stop at the Sunoco Gas station, near the La Follette Middle School. Mahar told Lane he stopped him because of the tint possibly being too dark.

Following a tint test, the officer determined the window to be darker than the law allows, according to the LPD report.

Lane said he did have a driver’s license but didn’t answer when asked if there were any weapons in the vehicle. After a second question about weapons, Lane allegedly said yes. Lane said he had a gun in a holster he was wearing on his side. Mahar placed the weapon in his patrol car.

Based on the police report, Lane told Mahar that he wasn’t on probation and had paid all the money he owed. A check with dispatch indicated otherwise; Lane has been convicted on three aggravated felonies.

Mahar asked Lane’s passenger, the co-owner of the vehicle, if there were any illegal drugs in the vehicle, in particular Meth, and she paused, looked away and said no, the report said. She denied Mahar to search the vehicle when requested.

As a result, Lt. Matthew Forsyth and K-9 Officer Diesel were called to the scene. The K-9 was deployed soon alerting to the driver side door.

Before Forsyth and Mahar began searching the vehicle, they asked if there was anything inside that they needed to know about. Lane allegedly said that there was Meth in a sunglasses case that was soon found by officers. LPD Officer Mallory Campbell, assisting in the search, located pills, believed to be Hydrocodone, an unused syringe, a baggy with a crystal-like substance in it. Campbell weighed the substance coming out to 13.8 grams, according to the report.

The gun Lane had had five rounds of ammo in the magazine and one in the chamber, police said. It was determined that the passenger was not in possession of any drugs, and Lane had stated all the drugs were his.

Lane has an $85,000 secure bond and faces charges of possession of schedule II Meth – the manufacture-delivery-sell, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, violation of the window tint law and drug free school zone. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/08/2023-6AM)