After court today  in Hickman County Tennessee , I stopped for lunch at Breece’s Cafe  in Centerville , Tn, and picked up a copy of the Hickman County Times . By the way , Breece’s is a must and try the blackberry pie . The article that grabbed my attention was a cocaine case .

A California man was sentenced to 15 years in jail last week. According to affidavits filed by the 21st Judicial Task Force , Mr.Jeff Bryant was stopped because he was following a tractor-trailer less than two vehicle lengths. Following too closely is a traffic offense under Tennessee law . After  Mr. Bryant was stopped , He consented to a search of his car .Over 27 ounces of cocaine , some marijuana , and a firearm were found in the car . It appears the main defense to the charge was that the traffic stop was illegal. The court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence due to a bad traffic stop.

Mr. Bryant was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison. Possession , sell , delivery or manufacture of more than 300 grams of cocaine carries a 15 to 25 years in prison as a Range I offender .

It appears that Mr. Bryant was stopped by a drug interdiction unit that operates on Interstate 40.

The important lesson is that Mr. Bryant failed to exercise one of his basic constitutional rights . He could have refused the search. However , he consented to the search of his vehicle . Failing to exercise his constitutional rights cost him 15 years to be served at the Tennessee Department of Corrections .