Virginia Couple Caught with Half Pound of Cocaine on Interstate in Tuscaloosa County

A couple from Virginia faces drug trafficking charges after they were allegedly caught with a half-pound of crack cocaine during an interstate traffic stop in Tuscaloosa County this weekend.

According to arrest documents filed Tuesday, a State Trooper with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency clocked a gray Infinti driving 92 miles per hour on I-20/59 North in Tuscaloosa County Sunday.

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The Trooper pulled over the driver, 50-year-old Michael Collin Lassiter, near mile marker 62 outside of Fosters, just over the border between Greene and Tuscaloosa Counties.

The Trooper was speaking with Lassiter through the car's passenger window when he reportedly smelled the odor of marijuana inside the vehicle.

Law enforcement officers searched the vehicle and say they found a small amount of marijuana, less than five grams, in a pouch inside the car.

Of significantly more interest was a brown plastic bag inside a purse that was behind the passenger seat.

Narcotics agents field-tested a white powder inside the bag and discovered it was a little more than 250 grams of crack cocaine -- more than half a pound of the controlled substance.

Lassiter and his passenger, 41-year-old Johanna Lynette Harris, reportedly claimed ownership of the drugs and both were arrested Sunday and charged with trafficking cocaine.

Court documents list the man and woman as residents of the same address in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The couple was booked in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, and bond was set at $500,000 for each suspect.