MURFREESBORO – A Northampton County man was arrested here Tuesday for marijuana possession.

Joey Jonte Miles, 26, of Potecasi was charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was placed in the Hertford County Jail under a $10,000 secured bond.

According to Murfreesboro Police Chief Darrell Rowe, MPD Officer David Griffith was on routine patrol along Spring Avenue around 3 p.m. when he spotted a Jeep Cherokee operating with the back hatch open. Rowe said that open hatch prevent Griffith from seeing the vehicle’s license plate, prompting a traffic stop.

“Officer Griffith, upon walking up to the vehicle, noticed the driver and two passengers acting in a suspicious manner,” Rowe said. “Officer Griffith then called for back-up.”

MPD K-9 Officer Chris Owens responded, along with the department’s canine officer “Kane.” Rowe said upon a search of the vehicle, “Kane” alerted his handler to the presence of narcotics.

“Five bags of marijuana were found in the area where the front seat passenger was sitting,” Rowe said. “Mr. Miles was observed by Officer Griffith sitting in that seat, thus prompting his arrest on the drug charges.”

The driver of the vehicle and the other passenger were not charged.

“I would like to praise Officer Griffith for his proactive approach in performing the traffic stop as well as to praise Officer Owens and ‘Kane’ for the professional manner in which they handled the search, the discovery of the narcotics, and the subsequent arrest,” Rowe stated.