A man was arrested for drug possession and traffic charges after he was stopped by a Lincoln Parish deputy sheriff early Tuesday morning.
Darrius J. Livingston, 32, and Sarah Renee Martin Smith, 35, both of Ruston, were arrested early last Tuesday in Choudrant. A Lincoln Parish deputy reported seeing Livingston run the red light on U.S. Highway 80 at La. Highway 145.
The deputy asked the driver and passenger to step out of the vehicle when he smelled marijuana.
Livingston admitted there was a shotgun on the rear floorboard. He said he was not a convicted felon, but he had charges pending, explaining the shotgun and the vehicle belonged to his grandfather.
A records check indicated Livingston was a convicted felon.
The vehicle was searched, and the loaded shotgun was recovered. A smoking pipe containing suspected methamphetamine residue was found in the center console and a zippered case between the front seats contained multiple individual bags of suspected methamphetamine and marijuana. A scale was found in a backpack in the rear seat.
A purse was found in the back seat containing a Louisiana identification card for Sarah Martin Smith and a vial of suspected methamphetamine. After she was arrested, Smith said she had a pipe for smoking methamphetamine inside her clothing. The pipe was removed by a female deputy at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
Livingston was booked for possession of a firearm by convicted felon, illegal weapon in the presence of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and running a red light.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
