Written by Amanda Coers – Early Police Officer Andre Smoot conducted a traffic stop on Monday, March 6th, at approximately 8:40 p.m. near the 700 block of Early Boulevard when he noticed a vehicle with a defective headlight.
After making contact with the driver, Dakota Peterson, and passenger, Brand Willis, Officer Smoot noticed both individuals were acting “very nervous and suspicious,” according to a recent release from the Early Police Department. Peterson and Willis were trying to “hurry the contact along and leave.” Peterson and Willis were traveling to Austin from Kansas. Pictured above is Brand Willis (left) and Dakota Peterson (right).
When questioned by officers, both individuals were unable to give clear answers about their trip to Austin. Officer Smoot then confronted the occupants of the vehicle about their apparent nervousness and they advised the officers there was marijuana in the vehicle. Officers then searched the vehicle and located over 43 grams of marijuana and a small quantity of “wax” or a THC concentrate derived from marijuana. Drug paraphernalia was also located in the vehicle.
Wax is a distillation of marijuana, reportedly extremely potent. Often a single hit of wax will keep a person high for more than 24 hours. According to the Early Police Department, wax is highly hallucinogenic, and has caused numerous people to be hospitalized, even resulting in several deaths due to its purity.
Both Dakota Peterson and Brand Willis were placed under arrest and taken to the Brown County Jail, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Marijuana.
Willis Brand is currently being held at the Brown County Jail in lieu of bonds totaling $11,500. Dakota Peterson is currently being held at the Brown County Jail in lieu of a $1,500 bond.
