A traffic stop in Monticello over the weekend turned into a pot pursuit that left marijuana scattered for miles along Hwy. 27 and police searching for the passenger who escaped before his arrest.

Monticello police arrested Kelby Diabate Poole, 20, of Prentiss, Friday on charges of DUI other substance, felony fleeing and multiple traffic violations, said Police Chief David Stanley. Poole was the driver of the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage. Police are searching for the whereabouts of his passenger, who has not been identified.

Stanley said police made a traffic stop shortly before 9 p.m. on the Mitsubishi on Hwy. 27. Before approaching the vehicle, they smelled a strong odor of marijuana, he said.

When officers walked to the vehicle, Poole took off with the male passenger still inside, headed south on Hwy. 27.

“At some point they began throwing marijuana out of the vehicle,” he said.

Deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit and when they passed into Walthall County, the deputies there joined in as well, Stanley said.

“They were steadily throwing marijuana out the windows,” he said. “The officers could smell it. It was some potent stuff.”

Stanley said the marijuana was loose, like it had been bagged.

“It scattered everywhere,” he said.

Troopers with the Mississippi Highway Patrol were waiting at U.S. 98 and deployed spike strips which deflated all four of the Mitsubishi’s tires, Stanley said.

The suspects continued west on U.S. 98 a short distance before the car ran off the road onto the shoulder. Poole was apprehended, but his passenger fled the scene. Stanley said officers searched for the man for about an hour.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Monticello Police Department at 601-587-7732 or Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at 601-587-2961.