Tell-tale pink powder stains on his lips led to the arrest of a man for trying to tamper with evidence by eating it.
The man, Shawn Edwards, 22, was bound to the grand jury on charges of tampering with evidence and possession of drugs.
His problems began when he didn’t buckle up. McMinnville Police Sgt. Ben Cantrell pulled him over for a seatbelt violation. It was as he approached the car, Cantrell said he could see Edwards putting things into his mouth and chewing them.
“I observed a pink powder on his lips that appeared to be from tablets he had inserted into his mouth,” Cantrell said.
Cantrell said he ordered Edwards to spit the tablets out of his mouth. He could see the suspect chewing them, plus there were pieces of the tablets on his floorboard and his seat.
Edwards told the officer, once he had been cuffed and arrested, there were hydrocodone tablets in his pants pocket. The policeman found 10 tablets in the suspect’s pocket. Edwards later admitted trying to eat the tablets when he was pulled over so the officer wouldn’t find the drugs on him.