CARYVILLE, TN (WLAF) – Campbell County Sheriff’s Sergeant Tosha Tackett responded to a call of a possible accident on Mountain Road at Caryville on Monday morning but didn’t find an accident. Instead she found a vehicle backed into a side road that appeared to have been purposely backed there.

Tackett approached the vehicle and saw a male asleep in the driver’s seat. She also saw a Mountain Dew bottle with what appeared to be a white substance in it. Tackett knocked on the window to wake the man who immediately raised up and threw the bottle into the floorboard of the vehicle. He then rolled the passenger side window down; Tackett asked for identification and proof of insurance. The man was able to provide identification but not insurance.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as David Lee Rector, and his driver’s license revealed his license was valid with an ignition interlock device. According to a report from the sheriff’s department, Tackett did not see an ignition interlock device in the vehicle. Rector reported that his vehicle had been stolen and they ripped the device out. Tackett asked Rector what was in the bottle he threw into the floorboard and replied, “it’s just an empty bottle.” When Tackett asked to see the bottle, Rector stated he could not retrieve it due to it going all the way to the backseat. Tackett asked for permission to search the vehicle and Rector denied.

Sgt. Tackett was joined by Deputy Paul Harmon and Rector was asked to step out of the vehicle. Harmon searched Rector for safety reasons, and he did admit to Harmon he had needles in his pocket. While standing in front of the vehicle Rector asked Harmon to get a cigarette from inside the vehicle. Harmon retrieved the cigarette pack and found a used clear pipe with residue sitting in the middle console by the cigarettes. Tackett asked Rector what kind of drugs he used, and he allegedly admitted to using Methamphetamine. She then asked if that was the substance in the soda bottle, and he replied it was a non-active lab. He continued that it was his second “run” attempted in that same bottle.

According to the repor, Rector admitted he had a small black plastic container with Meth in it but he wasn’t sure where it was located. Detective Sergeant David Wormsley was called to the scene and located an active Meth lab under the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

Rector, 50, 447 Spruce Lane, Caryville was charged with possession of schedule I controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, manufacture of Methamphetamine, possession of schedule III controlled substance, violation of TN financial law and other. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/30/2022-6AM)

Related