No seat belt traffic stop leads to felon in possession of a handgun charge for Middlesboro man
From WRIL -
On Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 3:30pm Middlesboro Officer Dakota Torstrick conducted a traffic stop on a black Nissan on west Cumberland Avenue for the driver not wearing a seat belt.
Upon contact with the driver, 21-year-old Dylan Seigler of Middlesboro, he told the officer that his license was suspended. During the conversation Officer Torstrick states he could see a bulge in Siegler’s right pocket consistent with the size and shape of a handgun. The odor of Marijuana was also present.
The officer asked Siegler if he had a gun, and he began pressing the accelerator while the vehicle was in park which compelled Torstrick to reach into the car, unlock the door, and have him step out.
A search incident to arrest yielded a loaded 9mm Hi-Point handgun with one in the chamber. It was then confirmed through Middlesboro Dispatch that Siegler was a felon. Also found in Siegler’s pocket was a pipe containing suspected Methamphetamine.
Siegler was arrested and lodged in the Bell County Detention Center charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, possession of controlled substance – 1st degree, 1st offense (Methamphetamine), buying/possessing drug paraphernalia, no registration, no insurance, and failure to wear a seat belt. No bond has been set as of this report.
Siegler was just recently released from Claiborne County Jail after he lead officers on a pursuit on October 14th that started in Middlesboro, traveled through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel into Tennessee, then into Virginia ending in Ewing. He is still facing charges for that incident.