Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Bust

A traffic stop on Saturday has lead to the arrest of a man and woman on drug and weapons charges.

According to East Ridge Police, officers stopped a white BMW for a minor traffic violation near the Bachman Tunnels. Upon further investigation, Police determined the two occupants were in possession of methamphetamine and a handgun.

Shawn Unruh, 46, and Miranda Gifford, 32, both of an Old Ringgold Road address were detained and taken to the East Ridge Police Department for further questioning. The suspects agreed to speak with police after their Miranda Rights were provided to them.

Police obtained a search warrant for Unruh’s residence and conducted a search. The search yielded 29 grams of methamphetamine, 300 grams of marijuana, and 11 firearms.

Unruh was charged with Possession of Meth for Resale, Possession of Marijuana for Resale, and Possession of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony. Gifford was charged with Possession of Meth.

According to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office booking reports, Unruh is being held on $70,000 bond and is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on September 28.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.