32-year-old Prentiss Lasalle Suell was charged with six felony drug charges by the Shelby County Area Law Enforcement and Retailers Team (A.L.E.R.T.) after being a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over for an expired drive-out tag.
On May 14th, around 3:30 a.m., A.L.E.R.T. Division detectives noticed a black Jeep Cherokee with expired drive-out tags fitting the description of a vehicle that had been reported stolen. When detectives approached the car, they smelled what they believed to be the odor of raw marijuana coming from the vehicle. The detective asked the driver, Cortney Mosely, to step out of the car.
When the detective opened the rear driver-side door, he found Marquale Burns holding a backpack containing: two bottles of Promethazine with Codeine, two bags of pot, 12.2 g of THC edibles, and $8,824 in cash.
The detective then approached the rear passenger door where he found Prentiss Suell holding a backpack containing: 208 g of pot, 70 alprazolam pills, 19 amphetamine pills, 3.9 g of hydrocodone, 41 packages of THC edibles and $6,386 in cash. Also in the bag was a State of Tennessee Notice of Seizure and Forfeiture form from a previous encounter with the Memphis Police Organized Crime Unit.
After asking the remaining passenger, Bianca Thomas, to exit the car, the detective handcuffed Mosely, Burns, Suell, and Thomas. A.L.E.R.T detectives then searched the vehicle finding a loaded Glock 30 .45 caliber and a bag of marijuana in the center console. Shelby County Narcotic Detectives arrived on the scene, transported those involved, and took the evidence to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office at 5295 E. Shelby Drive.
Mosely, Burns, and Thomas gave recorded statements. Thomas said she was riding with her boyfriend, Mosely, to drop his friends off. Mosely told officers that he bought the Glock from a pawnshop in Mississippi. Burns admitted to selling drugs and said that the backpack and its contents police found him holding was, indeed, his. Suell refused to answer questions.
Detectives seized property belonging to Suell and Burns. Suell has an extensive arrest history in Shelby County, including charges from April 2020.
Prentiss Suell was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent, hydrocodone with intent, promethazine with intent, alprazolam with intent, amphetamine with intent, and THC edibles with intent. His bond was set at $50,000.
