By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Police say the wrong license plate registration led them to charge a local man with cocaine possession during a Saturday morning traffic stop.

The officer stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Crawford and Parrish streets, where he discovered the license plate registration did not match the type of vehicle the plate was on, said Police Capt. Brian Stallings.

When the vehicle was stopped, the passenger, later identified as Shaunte Tejuante Hooker, jumped out of the vehicle. The officer instructed Hooker, 34, to get back inside. The officer repeatedly asked Hooker to get back inside.

The driver, Ricky Ray Duncan, admitted the tag was for a different vehicle. When the officer ran the vehicle identification number, the database showed the license plate was expired and had an inspection violation. The officer noted in his report that the passenger was acting “extremely nervous.”

The driver told the officer the passenger was nervous because there was a marijuana smoking pipe in the driver’s side door. The officer asked if there were any other items in the car, and Duncan said yes. The passenger, Shaunte Hooker, told the officer he “just got a ride with this guy.”

When Hooker got up from the seat there was a white substance there that field tested positive for cocaine. A police report said Hooker asked the officer what he was doing. When the officer told Hooker he was under arrest Hooker responded by saying “you ain’t arresting me.”

A struggle ensued and the officer had to take Hooker to the ground while the man yelled and cursed, Stallings said.

Stallings said Hooker continued to curse and yell while in the police booking room. He was charged with felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor resist, obstruct, delay an officer.

Hooker has since been released from the Rowan County Detention Center under a $10,000 secured bond. The driver, Ricky Duncan, 46, was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia and a fictitious tag.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.