ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — An Elizabeth City man is facing a multitude of charges after deputies say they pulled him over with drugs, a gun, and more inside his vehicle.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten is also clearing up what he calls misinformation about the recent arrest. He said some people have taken to social media to allege excessive force was used. He said that is not true.
The Pasquotank Sheriff's Office said deputies attempted to pull over a gold Honda Accord on June 21 for a traffic violation.
"It had extremely dark tint on the windows, which is illegal. So, that was the reasonable suspicion for the stop," said Wooten.
Deputies said the driver did not pull over but kept driving at safe and normal speeds. Eventually, the car came to a stop in a driveway near the 700 block of Adams Street.
The sheriff's office said the driver, Tysheem Dashaun Commander, is a convicted felon and was wanted for outstanding warrants out of Perquimans County on charges of assault on a female and injury to personal property.
Additionally, Pasquotank deputies said they found the following in Commander's car:
- A Draco pistol
- 38 rounds of 7.62x39
- 10 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot
- Digital scales
- Marijuana (26 grams)
- Cocaine (5 grams)
- 46 grams of an unknown substance
- $1,534 in cash
Commander was taken into custody at the scene and charged with the following:
- 1 Felony Count: Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
- 1 Felony Count: Possession with intent to sell/deliver Marijuana
- 1 Felony Count: Maintaining a vehicle to store a controlled substance
- 1 Misdemeanor Count: Assault on a Female
- 1 Misdemeanor Count: Injury to personal property
- 1 Misdemeanor Count: Failure to Heed Light/ Siren
- 2 Misdemeanor Counts: Resisting Public Officer
- 1 Misdemeanor Count: Driving While License Revoked
- 1 Misdemeanor Count: Window Tint Violation
Sheriff Wooten said once the car stopped, his deputies said they had trouble getting him out of the car and into the patrol car.
"He refused to get out of the vehicle. He refused to comply with lawful commands," Wooten said. "His mom showed up on the scene, we allowed his mother to come out there and talk to him to try to get him to listen."
The sheriff's office said posts on social media and some live Facebook videos claim deputies tased Commander several times while taking him into custody, but the sheriff's office disputes the allegations and claims that deputies never deployed tasers.
"One of the deputies had a taser in his hand, and I didn’t hear the audio, but I’m sure he told him, you know, 'Look, you need to comply or you’ll be tased,'" Wooten said. "It was not deployed."
DeShawn Morris, an activist and the owner of independent news outlet SOUL Catching News in Elizabeth City, said he went to the scene that day and heard people making that claim.
"We actually heard some of the bystanders say he may have been tased, so me being independent news and whatnot, I started asking the deputies those particular questions. The deputies assured me that nobody had got tased," he said.
Morris said when he got to the scene, everyone was civil, but asking questions. He said if deputies had used excessive force, he was sure it would come out in court.
"I do believe because it was a process where somebody got arrested that the court is going to play that out," he said.
Following an initial court appearance on Monday, Commander posted a $71,000 bond and was released from jail.