Hunter
05/14/20
A Coralville man who allegedly engaged in drag racing on Highway 6 Wednesday afternoon was arrested on drug charges.
Police say Demarcus Covington of 16th Avenue, who turned 19 Wednesday, was at the traffic light eastbound on Highway 6 at Boyrum Street in his Jeep Grand Cherokee, next to a black Charger.
When the light turned green, both vehicles reportedly began drag racing. Covington is accused of running a steady red light at Keokuk Street, prompting the officer to activate lights and siren.
Covington continued until he pulled into Smokin’ Joes on Broadway Street. Upon contact, the officer reported the smell of ingested alcohol and fresh marijuana. Covington allegedly made several movements about the vehicle and refused to stop reaching around the vehicle and had to be removed. Covington allegedly told police that he had marijuana in the vehicle a few hours previous.
A subsequent search found packaging and labeling material for marijuana, 9 sandwich bags containing approximately 29 grams of marijuana each, and a scale with marijuana residue on it. In total, Covington had 251 grams of the drug inside his vehicle.
The Coralville man is barred from driving as a habitual offender, and allegedly used his brother’s name when identifying himself before admitting he lied about his name.
Covington faces a host of charges, including a controlled substance violation, drug tax stamp violation, posesssion, driving while barred, possession of drug paraphernalia, and providing false ID information. If convicted on all counts, Covington could be sentenced to up to over 13 years in prison.
