SUBMITTED BY CHIEF DEPUTY JEFFREY J. MCATEE

 

In the early morning hours Saturday, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department seized approximately one and half pounds of marijuana and $10,781 in U.S. currency during a traffic stop for a suspect DUI.

 

Lt. Pat McCarty was working a DUI patrol on Interstate 79 South near the Anmoore exit when he observed a car strike a guard rail and keep going.  Once Lt. McCarty got the suspect’s vehicle stopped he learned that the driver was Cirk Douglas Friend, a 36 year old, of Mt. Clare.  At one point during the traffic stop Lt. McCarty observed Friend removed large sums of cash from his pockets and attempting to hide this cash in his (Friend’s) vehicle.  Lt. McCarty then contacted Salem Police Department K-9 handler, Lt. Jeff Beach, and asked him to respond to the scene.

 

Once on scene, Lt. Beach’s K-9, Dairo, gave a positive alert for drugs. The Sheriff’s Department’s Street Crimes and Drug Unit (SCAD) was then requested to assist with the search of the suspect’s vehicle.  As a result of this search approximately one and a half pounds of marijuana, 30 Clonazepam, anabolic steroids, customer list/owe sheets, and $10,781 in cash.

 

Friend was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, a felony. Friend will face the additional charges of DUI and possession steroids and Clonazepam when his case is presented to a Grand Jury.