A Beech Island man was apprehended for drug and weapon charges in Aiken Wednesday.
An Aiken Public Safety officer on patrol Wednesday saw a black Chevy Impala with a nonworking tag light turn west onto Richland Avenue out of the parking lot of a motel, according to the report by Aiken Public Safety.
The driver then began to drift left of center and was pulled over, police said.
The car had a temporary tag, and upon making contact with the driver, Jaquan Lanham, 20, of Beech Island, the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the car, police said.
The officer asked for Lanham's driver's license, bill of sale and proof of insurance. Lanham said the car belonged to his girlfriend, Tramaine Jenkins of North Augusta, who was in the passenger seat, according to the report.
Lanham and Jenkins were asked to step out of the car and were advised that the vehicle would be searched because the officer smelled marijuana, police said. Lanham said he and Jenkins had smoked marijuana in the car earlier but that there was no more, the report stated.
Another officer watched the couple while the car was searched, according to the report. Loose marijuana was found throughout the car, according to police. Police said they also found two scales commonly used to weigh drugs and $23 in the center console.
A search of the trunk revealed several backpacks, and in a blue backpack, the officer found two bags of a green, leafy substance believed to be marijuana and two pistols, two pistols. Lanham was arrested, searched and placed in a patrol car. He had $920 in his pocket, according to police.
A further search of the backpack revealed 15 bags of marijuana, according to the police. A search of the pistols' serial numbers revealed that one of them had been reported stolen. Another $280 was found in the blue backpack, officers said.
According to the report, Lanham told officers that he was not selling marijuana and that the cash was for a downpayment on a house. He also said he bought the guns not knowing that one was stolen, police said.
Lanham was charged with no driver's license, possession of a stolen pistol and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.