A local man was arrested early Sunday on driving while intoxicated and drug charges after a Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s deputy stopped him in Choudrant, according to an arrest affidavit.
Ryan Mead Smith, 33, of Choudrant, was booked into the Lincoln Parish Detention Center on charges of first-offense driving under the influence, two counts of possession of a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Deputies saw a red Chevrolet at about 1 a.m. cross the center line while traveling south and conducted a traffic stop at Highway 821. The deputy reported smelling an odor associated with an alcoholic beverage while speaking with Smith and continued to detect the odor on his breath as the conversation went on. Smith agreed to a standardized field sobriety test and performed poorly. He was placed in restraints and advised of his Miranda rights.
While retrieving Smith’s phone from the vehicle at his request, the deputy reported smelling an odor associated with marijuana. A subsequent probable cause search turned up 3.7 grams of suspected marijuana, high-concentration THC edibles and numerous items of drug paraphernalia.
Smith refused to submit a breath sample after arriving at the detention center and was booked without incident.
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.
