COVINGTON, Ga. – A man and woman from Covington lost some of their independence Tuesday when they were stopped for not wearing seatbelts and drugs were found in the car.

According to a Covington Police Department incident report, Sgt. Gene Nugui and Officer Austin Knight were dispatched to assist the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) with a traffic stop at Washington Street and Turner Lake Road a little after 5 p.m. July 4.

When they arrived at the scene, Nugui and Knight met with Trooper W. Grier who advised he had conducted a traffic stop on a 2014 Nissan Altima because the driver Alvin Wilson, 24, and the passenger Rhea Cyrus, 22, were not wearing seatbelts.

According to the report, as Grier approached the vehicle, he detected a strong odor of marijuana. Because of the odor, Grier conducted a search of the car and reportedly found a black nylon bag behind the passenger seat that contained two plastic bags which appeared to contain a pound each of marijuana and three smaller bags containing a mixture of powder and crack cocaine.

According to the report, Wilson and Cyrus were transported to the Newton County Jail charged with the seatbelt violation, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.