Sheriff: Deputy smelled pot at traffic stop, but that’s not all he found inside car

Two men were arrested Sunday night after a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy found a bag of marijuana, a smoking pipe, digital scales and a gun inside the vehicle, Sheriff Mike Ezell said.

A deputy pulled over a car around 11:20 p.m. at the intersection of Lampkin Road and Mississippi 63, Ezell said, and he smelled marijuana as he approached the vehicle.

When the deputy arrived at the vehicle, he saw a bag of what appeared to be marijuana in the pocket behind the passenger seat, Ezell said.

Ezell said a search of the vehicle netted the bag of pot, as well as a pipe, digital scales, and a .45-caliber handgun.

The driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Nichaulas Fantauzzi of Gautier, was arrested on charges of improper equipment, no driver’s license and felony possession of a controlled substance. The passenger in the car, 20-year-old Korey Ladner of Gautier, was arrested on a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance.

Fantauzzi and Ladner are both held at the Jackson County jail pending an initial bond hearing.

This story was originally published July 17, 2017 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Sheriff: Deputy smelled pot at traffic stop, but that’s not all he found inside car."