Multiple Traffic Violations Leads to Stolen Vehicle and Drugs
By Lewis Loflin
Traffic Stop Uncovers Stolen Truck and Morphine
On March 3, 2022, Washington County Sheriff’s Interdiction Officers observed a gold Nissan Titan pickup truck failing to stop fully at a stop sign at Roy Green Road and Telford-New Victory Road, with an expired registration. According to Sheriff Keith Sexton, officers attempted a traffic stop on Conklin Road, but the driver, Daniel Barnett, 37, of Johnson City, evaded until stopping at a Roy Green Road address. Barnett was taken into custody and found with a 20 mg dose of liquid morphine.
Further checks revealed Barnett’s license was revoked due to prior traffic violations, and the vehicle was reported stolen from Harlan, Kentucky. He faced charges of Evading Arrest, Possession of Stolen Property, Simple Possession of Schedule II (Morphine), Driving on Revoked License (2nd offense), and two counts of Stop Sign Violation. Held on a $14,000 bond at Washington County Detention Center, his court date was set for March 4, 2022, at 9:00 A.M.
Source: Washington County Sheriff’s Department, March 4, 2022.
Three Arrested After Kingsport Police Stumble onto Drug Deal
Interrupted Deal Yields Suboxone and Marijuana
On October 29, 2013, shortly before midnight, Kingsport Police Department (K.P.D.) Vice Detectives witnessed a suspected drug deal at 120 West Stone Drive, Kingsport, Tennessee. Robert Collier and Marcello Fernandez were in a gray 2008 Infiniti G35 sedan in the parking lot. Approaching officers saw Fernandez holding a baggie with three Suboxone pills, which he tried to hide in his pocket. After a brief struggle, he was subdued and arrested.
Marijuana was found in the vehicle, with Collier admitting he was there to buy it. Detectives seized $150 in cash tied to the transaction. Collier was charged with Criminal Attempt to Obtain Narcotics, while Fernandez faced Possession of Schedule III (Suboxone), Possession of Schedule VI (Marijuana), and Resisting Arrest. A third person, Laura Owens, present at the scene, was arrested on an outstanding Hawkins County warrant for Failure to Appear and handed over to that agency.
Source: Kingsport Police Department, October 29, 2013.
Drug Arrests and Family Networks in East Tennessee
These cases—Barnett’s solo arrest and the Kingsport trio—illustrate how drug issues in East Tennessee often entangle families and social circles, especially in areas with few jobs and treatment options. Washington and Sullivan Counties, encompassing Johnson City and Kingsport, have long faced economic stagnation. By 2013, Sullivan County’s unemployment hovered at 7.5% (BLS), dropping slightly to 6.2% by 2022, but quality jobs remained scarce—retail and low-wage service roles dominated, with median incomes (~$38,000, Census 2022) insufficient for recovery resources.
Barnett’s morphine possession and stolen vehicle suggest a lone operator, yet such arrests often ripple outward. In rural East Tennessee, drug use frequently binds families or friends: a 2013 Kingsport raid (Dugger) nabbed a mother, son, and neighbors, while a 2014 meth lab bust (Bowen family) endangered kids. The 2013 Kingsport deal—Collier, Fernandez, and Owens—shows a tight-knit group caught mid-transaction, likely linked by necessity or habit. Suboxone, used for opioid withdrawal, hints at addiction’s grip, pulling in associates like Owens, already wanted elsewhere.
Treatment scarcity fuels this cycle. In 2013, Tennessee had just 1.5 treatment beds per 1,000 residents (SAMHSA), with rural counties like these offering even less—waitlists stretched months, and private care was unaffordable. By 2022, little had changed, leaving jail as the default. With coal gone and manufacturing thin, drug trafficking or use becomes a lifeline, ensnaring entire households or networks when police strike, as seen across your prior cases: families collapse under charges, not rehab, in a region with no escape hatch.
Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
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