A Knoxville man has been arrested on several felony drug charges.
According to court records, on April 5th at approximately 9:58 am, the Knoxville Fire Department was dispatched to Woodland Drive in Knoxville for a report of a chemical smell in the hallway of one of the apartment buildings. It was determined that the odor was coming from one of the apartments, and the fire department determined that the odor resulted from a large amount of a “Bondo” like material being applied to a wall in the apartment. A Knoxville Police Officer was informed by the fire department that while members were inside the apartment, pipes commonly used to smoke methamphetamine were observed in plain sight
The officer made contact with Steven Pickering in the apartment and informed him of the information I had received, and Steven informed him that his wife and he were the tenants of the apartment. The criminal complaint states that Steven granted the officer consent to enter the apartment and look for the reported items, and the officer observed a smaller black bag with a thick, yellow tube protruding from the bag. This tube allegedly had black residue inside it, and the residue is consistently associated with drug paraphernalia items that are used to smoke narcotics. Steven ultimately admitted that this bag contained “paraphernalia items”.
A search of the bag revealed several used drug paraphernalia items commonly associated with the consumption of methamphetamine and marijuana. It also allegedly contained an extensive amount of small, plastic baggies that had a white, crystalline residue, presumed to be methamphetamine residue, inside them, a digital scale with white, crystalline residue on it that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, a small, plastic baggie that had a thick, yellow/golden colored wax substance inside that Steven allegedly admitted was marijuana wax, and approximately 10 small, plastic baggies that had an actual white, crystalline product inside them. The officer field-tested 2 of the 10 baggies, and both field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
Steven admitted that all items of interest in this bag were his and he granted consent for his electronic devices to be searched. As a result of the investigation, it was determined that he would be charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance – 3rd/subsequent offense for methamphetamine and marijuana, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Steven has 5 prior drug convictions. When officers went to arrest Steven on a warrant he allegedly had methamphetamine in his sock and received an additional charge. Steven’s Wife Kimberly was also arrested for two misdemeanor drug charges.
