DATE: Sunday, July 27, 1997                 TAG: 9707270112

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

                                            LENGTH:   26 lines

AIR FRESHENERS DIDN'T KEEP COPS FROM SNIFFING OUT CARLOAD OF POT

A Virginia Beach man has been arrested in Tennessee on drug charges after police found 300 pounds of marijuana in the car he was driving.

Up to 20 Christmas tree-shaped air fresheners hanging in the car failed to cover the scent of the pot, police said.

Jamaal Lou Wallace, 27, was arrested Thursday night while traveling along Interstate 40 near Knoxville. He was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The marijuana was found in the trunk, police said.

After being stopped at a sobriety checkpoint, Wallace had a ``deer-caught-in-the-headlights look in his eyes,'' narcotics officer Dennis Worley said Friday.

``I knew why when he opened the car window,'' Worley said. ``The odor would nearly knock you down. There were 15 to 20 (air fresheners). So you can imagine how it smelled. The pot was in the trunk, but he had air fresheners all over the car.'' KEYWORDS: DRUG ARRESTS MARIJUANA

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