A routine traffic stop turned into a drug trafficking case involving a shoebox of cocaine and a high speed chase Friday night after a deputy noticed an SUV running off the road repeatedly in the Chestnut Drive area.

The deputy made contact with the driver, identified as 25-year-old Morris Alonzo Thrasher. As the man began looking for his insurance card, the deputy reportedly noticed a small shoebox sitting in the passenger seat. He could see in a hole in the shoebox and allegedly saw a plastic bag that made him suspicious. As the deputy began to walk back to his patrol car he noted that Thrasher seemed to act nervous, which was about the time that Thrasher threw the SUV into gear and sped off.

The deputy and a backup unit gave chase and watched as Thrasher reportedly ran a stop sign, travelling in excess of 75-80 mph. The driver reportedly passed several vehicles on the way, causing them to swerve off the road to avoid him.

The driver continued and turned into the Mountain View Estates where deputies continued to chase him as he reportedly drove erratically. Thrasher continued driving in the neighborhood until he found himself at a dead end, according to reports, where he then jumped out of the vehicle and began to run, still allegedly carrying the shoebox under his arm.

Thrasher reportedly ran down the side of a house into the woods. Deputies yelled for him to stop several times but were ignored. At one point Thrasher reportedly tripped over a log and fell. He was threatened with a Taser but ignored the threat. The first time the Taser was fired it did not make a connection.

When Thrasher got up and tried to run once more, another deputy deployed his Taser, which was able to make contact, according to reports. Thrasher then began to cooperate enough to be placed into custody. He had dropped his shoebox when he fell and deputies found several bags of suspected cocaine inside of it in varying sizes. There were also individual plastic bags and digital scales with residue found on them, according to reports.

Before placing Thrasher into a patrol car he was searched and deputies reportedly located a large amount of money - $4,023 – along with the cocaine, which weighed in at 54.3 grams. The SUV was also searched and deputies reportedly found three open containers of beer.

Thrasher was arrested and transported to the Newton County Detention Center where he was charged with trafficking cocaine, failure to maintain lane and fleeing/attempting to elude.