HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. – A father was arrested during a traffic stop after investigators said they found evidence of drug use, including syringes in his daughter’s diaper bag.
Deputies with the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office told the Rogersville Review that a car driven by Steven Douglas Merrill was initially stopped on Sept. 4 for a tag light violation. Inside the car with Merrill was his 1-year-old daughter.
When deputies talked to Merrill, he told them that his license was expired and he did not have insurance, the Times News reported.
Merrill was driving a 1999 Nissan Frontier, but deputies said that when they ran the license plates, they came back registered to a Ford, the Rogersville Review reported.
Steven Douglas Merrill was charged with child endangerment, possession of drug paraphernalia, child abuse or neglect, and violation of probation
When deputies searched the car, they found four used syringes under the driver’s seat, an open back of syringes in a diaper bag, a baggy with methamphetamine residue under the child’s car seat and deputies said that the child was playing with an open bag of screws and washers, the Times News reported.
Merrill was charged with a number of crimes, including child endangerment, possession of drug paraphernalia, child abuse or neglect and violation of probation.
