Pistol ‘in plain sight’ leads to drugs concealed out of sight

Beaumont resident Kaleb David Hill, 26, was indicted on second-degree felony possession of a controlled substance between 4 and 400 grams on Aug. 23 by a Jefferson County grand jury.

Officer Logan Ishee and several other Beaumont Police Department officers were on patrol just before 2 a.m. on March 26 near D’Money Daiquiris, a location described as being the subject of numerous calls for service and large amounts of criminal history, when the officer observed a white Audi A3 with a red backpack in the rear passenger floorboard in plain view.

“I observed Kaleb Hill approach the vehicle and observed the handle of a black pistol protruding from his right front pocket in plain view,” Ishee reported. Officer Ishee removed the weapon from Hill, which was found to not be in a holster, and placed Hill under arrest for unlawful carrying of a weapon.

The probable cause search of the vehicle revealed a large amount of suspected narcotics, as well as an additional firearm under the driver seat of the vehicle.

Inside the backpack, officers discovered several clear plastic baggies that were tied on the end and a large baggy containing marijuana.

“One of the baggies contained numerous long rectangular pressed pills that I believed through training to be alprazolam, commonly referred to as ‘four-bars.’ Another bag contained white and brown organic substance identified as mushrooms. The suspected mushrooms weighed in at 15.58, the four-bars at 12.3, and the marijuana 2.85 ounces. Additional misdemeanor charges were added for possession of a dangerous drug and possession of marijuana.