A Trion man was arrested last week at Pay-N-Tote after he hid a baggie of meth in a can of Coca-Cola.

Around 1:30 AM last Friday (Oct 20), a deputy on patrol turned onto Hwy 114at the red light intersection at Harvey’s South End Auto, when he noticed a white Toyota Camry stopped in the turning lane, despite there being to traffic. When the deputy turned around to investigate, the driver of the Camry suddenly turned down 114. Naturally, the deputy initiated a traffic stop.

The driver of the Camry, 40-year-old Dewey Padgett of Trion, parked at Pay-N-Tote gas station, and according to police reports, he was moving erratically and was nearly incomprehensible in his speech to the deputy.

Padgett told the deputy he was on his way to pick up a friend, but was unable to give a location. He also reportedly told the deputy that he was coming from a business in Trion that was closed at the time of the traffic stop.

Padgett consented to a vehicle search and pat-down, and when he exited the vehicle, he asked if he could grab his Coca-Cola. The deputy said yes, Padgett passed the deputy’s pat-down, and nothing illegal was found in the car. However, the deputy looked inside the Coke can, Padgett lurched forward, and asked, “What is it?”. Inside the can, the deputy found a little plastic baggie of methamphetamine floating in the Coca-Cola.

Padgett was subsequently arrested for meth possession and booked into the county jail. The wrecker company was not listed in police records.