Routine traffic stop leads to chase, multiple drug charges

Drug Charges

A local man’s bad splitsecond decision landed him in the Marshall County Jail facing multiple felonies. On September 23, Kingston Police Officer Brady Sims was driving south on highway 70. As he passed through the 700 block, in front of Standard Marine, he observed a black and silver truck drive left of the center line to make a left hand turn.

Sims initiated the traffic stop, and approached the driver – Robert Tiller, a 48-yearold male from Kingston. Sims instructed Tiller on why he was stopped and asked for his credentials. Tiller informed the officer that he had recently purchased the truck, and the plate on the truck came off a 2006 Chevrolet Z71.

Tiller repeatedly told Sims that he “lives just right there,” possibly trying to avoid what was about to happen next. Tiller’s drivers license came back clear, and he had no outstanding warrants. However, with just a flick of his wrist, the suspect would change that fact.

According to the police report, Sims returned to the vehicle and handed Tiller his license back. Sims inquired if there was marijuana in the vehicle because he smelled a distinct odor. Tiller denied being in possession of any drugs.

After Sims repeated that he smelled the odor of marijuana and was trying to explain about affixing an improper plate to a vehicle, “Robert grabbed the shifter of the truck put it into drive and drove off.”

Sims chased Tiller down three separate dirt roads. The vehicle chase ended when Tiller came to a stop behind a house. However, the pursuit would not end there. Sims chased the suspect on foot after Tiller exited his vehicle and began to run, holding a black bag in his possession.

Both suspect and officer climbed a barbed wire fence, and then Sims was able to tackle Tiller to the ground and place him in “double locked handcuffs.”

The officer placed Tiller in the back of his patrol vehicle and waited for Marshall County Deputy Anna Timms to meet him on the scene. While the suspect was in custody, Sims and Timms inventoried the contents of the truck. In the truck, the officers found the license plate to the truck Tiller was driving – which later came back with no insurance and expired registration – and a pair of grey metal knuckles with a knife inside.

Sims then opened the black bag that the suspect was in possession of during the chase. Inside the bag was a smaller bag of a green leafy substance, and two bags with a crystal-like substance. Sims also found a clear pipe with residue in it.

During the investigation, Sims continually checked on Tiller to make sure he was ok because he seemed extremely tired. Tiller was asleep in the back of Sims’ vehicle while the officers were searching his truck.

Sims transported the suspect to Alliance Health to have the cuts on his arms and legs sustained during the chase tended, and also because of how lethargic Tiller was.

While getting his cuts cleaned and dressed, Tiller told Sims that “he had been hit in the back with a club and that’s why he had taken the truck.”

Once transported to the Marshall County Jail, Sims opened Tiller’s wallet and found $1440 in it, a substantial amount more than the $800 he claimed to have sold the truck for.

Tiller was arrested for two counts of Possession with the Intent to Distribute, Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, Affixing Improper Plate to a Vehicle, Obstruction, No Insurance, Expired Registration, Failing to Have Insurance Verification in Possession, Possession of a Weapon (Knuckles), and Left of Center.

On the same day, Tiller was arraigned and formally charged with Trafficking in Illegal Drugs, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, and Escape from Arrest; all felonies.

An online search shows Tiller has multiple Marshall County priors including two counts of Possession of CDS, two counts of Endeavoring to Manufacture Methamphetamines, Feloniously Carrying a Firearm, and Concealing Stolen Property.