One of the four men who accused Bishop Eddie Long of sexual misconduct was arrested this week in Florida on suspicion of being a drug dealer.
Jamal Parris, 24, was driving a white 2011 BMW in Miami Beach Tuesday evening when a Florida Highway Patrol officer noticed that it had no tags.
Sgt. Seth Dubinsky stopped the car. When he approached it, he smelled marijuana, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday.
Dubinsky searched the car and said he found 181 grams of marijuana, which is worth about $1,000 on the street. He said he also found 50 clear plastic baggies and a Taurus semiautomatic handgun. He said Parris also was carrying $1,250 in cash.
The gear was "indicative of a drug dealer," Dubinsky said. Parris was arrested and jailed. He was charged with two felony counts: possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. He also was charged with operating a motor vehicle with no registration, a misdemeanor. It was unclear late Thursday whether he was still in custody.
The car was seized, and passenger Jeremy Jouvanni Gordon, 20, of Miami was arrested on a drug paraphernalia charge.
Parris and three other men sued Long, the Longfellows Youth Academy and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of Lithonia, accusing the bishop of using his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce them into sexual relations. The parties settled the case in May without disclosing the terms.
Parris, who is still using his Stockbridge address, immediately demanded a lawyer Tuesday, but still said a few things to Dubinsky.
"He kept telling me he bought that BMW with the settlement money," Dubinsky said. Parris also told the cop he'd been accepted to Miami-Dade College. "He said, ‘you guys are getting the wrong impression of me.'"
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