Hunter
01/02/26
A stop for a window tint violation has led to an Iowa City man facing a controlled substance violation.
27-year-old Jamal Holmes of George Street was in a vehicle stopped on Benton Street just before 10:20pm Thursday for having dark window tint that kept anyone from seeing into the vehicle at all and for the registered owner having a barred driving status.
The vehicle was occupied by four people, who were observed leaving a known drug house. The driver was uncooperative and didn’t want to provide his date of birth. He then began reaching around the vehicle, causing the officer to call for additional units.
A K9 alerted on the rear passenger side door, where Holmes was sitting.
A subsequent search of the vehicle reportedly turned up a firearm, a straw with white residue, and over 8 grams of suspected cocaine, located in two separate baggies on the rear passenger floorboard where Holmes had been sitting.
The firearm was seized but returned to its owner at the conclusion of the traffic stop.
The substance was sent to the DCI lab for testing.
Holmes was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, a serious misdemeanor punishable by a jail sentence of up to a year if convicted.