Baltimore man arrested after drugs found during Finksburg ride-share traffic stop

CARROLL COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — A traffic stop in Finksburg led to the arrest of a Baltimore City man after deputies said they found suspected fentanyl and cocaine in a ride-share vehicle.

On Wednesday, April 15, at 2:29 p.m., members of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Pro-Active Community Enforcement (PACE) Team, assisted by the Westminster Police Strategic Enforcement Unit, were conducting traffic enforcement on Baltimore Boulevard when they saw a 2019 Ford Fusion traveling westbound that failed to make a lane change when approaching an active work zone, where several state highway vehicles and state employees were working along the shoulder.

Deputies initiated a traffic stop in the 1800 block of Baltimore Boulevard in Finksburg. During the stop, deputies learned the vehicle was a ride-share and the driver was transporting a rear passenger from Baltimore City to a Westminster-area hotel.

Police identified the passenger as Maurice James Harrison, a 42-year-old man with a Baltimore City address.

A K-9 scan for controlled dangerous substances was requested and resulted in a positive alert for the odor of controlled dangerous substances, authorities said.

During a search of the vehicle, deputies said they found a knotted baggie wrapped in electrical tape containing a blue-and-white powdery substance suspected to be fentanyl, concealed in the area where Harrison was sitting.

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Deputies arrested Harrison and searched him, recovering a plastic baggie containing four knotted baggies with a white rock substance suspected to be cocaine, three knotted baggies containing a blue powder substance, and one knotted baggie containing a blue-and-pink powder substance also suspected to be fentanyl, authorities said.

The total weight of the suspected cocaine exceeded 14 grams, and the suspected fentanyl exceeded 37 grams, for a total narcotics seizure of 1.8 ounces, according to authorities. Police secured the items as evidence.

Harrison was transported to the Carroll County Detention Center for processing.

He was charged with two counts of controlled dangerous substances possession with intent to distribute (fentanyl and cocaine) and two counts of controlled dangerous substances possession, not cannabis (fentanyl and cocaine).

On April 15, Harrison was held without bond by the District Court commissioner pending a judicial hearing.