HOUSTON – An alleged gang member who was arrested Tuesday managed to bring a gun into a Harris County Jail facility because an arresting officer failed to find it during a body search, according to an affidavit.
Lacorey Lazes Fairley, 22, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and carrying a prohibited weapon in prohibited places.
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According to court documents, on Tuesday, Fairley was a passenger in a blue Volkswagen Jetta that was pulled over for a traffic stop on FM 1960. A Harris County Sheriff’s deputy who approached the vehicle said he smelled the strong aroma of marijuana emanating from inside.
The deputy first questioned the driver, observing that he appeared to be nervous, with his hand trembling. The deputy had the driver exit the vehicle, securing him in handcuffs, and conducted a body search. He found a ski mask in the suspect’s front pocket and the driver advised that there was a handgun in the glove compartment, documents state.
After securing the driver into the back of the patrol vehicle, the deputy then turned his attention to Fairley, who was the passenger.
According to documents, Fairley - at first - told the deputy that his name was “James Jones.” He changed his story shortly afterward, admitting that he lied, saying he did not want to get in trouble. Even though the deputy smelled marijuana, Fairley denied that there was any inside the vehicle.
The deputy then secured Fairley in handcuffs, patting him down also, and placed him inside the patrol car.
It was determined that there was enough probable cause to conduct a search of the suspects’ vehicle.
The deputy discovered a number of illegal substances inside the vehicle, including what turned out to be a glass jar containing marijuana residue underneath the driver’s seat, a small amount of marijuana on a rolling tray, a scale, multiple packs of individually wrapped baggies of marijuana (totaling 51.7 grams) inside a backpack, 1.2 grams of ecstasy, and multiple packs of THC edibles and cartridges that had a total weight of 153 grams, according to investigators.
Inside the glovebox, a Glock 43 handgun with a loaded magazine was found, in addition to a loaded Glock 9MM magazine, but no gun for that was found.
Another black ski mask was found in the glove box, along with an orange bandana, which is commonly used to represent the Crip gang members, investigators said.
Both suspects were transported to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Cypresswood Jail. The arresting officer left after delivering the suspects to the facility but was summoned to return a few hours later.
Detention staff told the deputy that a loaded black Taurus GC2 pistol was located in one of the holding tanks, believing that one of his detainees had brought it in.
The arresting officer then went to review cameras that were inside his patrol vehicle.
It was then that he heard and saw on video Fairley telling the other detainee, “I’ve got this gun on me,” motioning to his crotch area, according to documents.
The deputy allegedly reported that Fairley’s large size prevented him from detecting the gun. Records show Fairley is a little more than 6 feet tall and weighs 350 pounds.
Investigators also determined that Fairley is a verified 52 Hoover-Crips member who is on probation for a previous arrest for aggravated robbery.
Fairley’s bond was set at $30,000.