According to an approved Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Deputy K-9 Steven Richardson arrested 57-year-old Jay Edward Phillips of Monterey, Tennessee, on the evening of June 1, 2026, following a traffic stop on Interstate 40 West near mile marker 306.

The incident began when Deputy Richardson observed a Nissan SUV with two male occupants parked suspiciously behind the Lucky Stop gas station on Plateau Road in Crossville. After noticing the patrol vehicle, the occupants appeared to quickly hide something and abruptly left the parking lot toward the interstate. Deputy Richardson followed the vehicle, which was driven by a 62-year-old man (who was not arrested and will therefore go nameless in this report), and initiated a traffic stop after clocking the SUV traveling 74 mph in a 70 mph zone and observing it cross the fog line three times.

Upon approaching the vehicle, Deputy Richardson identified Phillips in the passenger seat and observed a white, crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine scattered on Phillips’ person, shirt, and seat, alongside a glass pipe hidden near his crotch. When ordered out of the vehicle, Phillips began defecating on himself and continued to do so in the grass near the patrol car, an action the deputy noted is a tactic often used by suspects to destroy narcotic evidence.

A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed multiple items of drug paraphernalia and a torn, medium-sized plastic bag covered in suspected narcotic residue. Although a large amount of the scattered substance could not be recovered, Deputy Richardson secured approximately one gram of methamphetamine shards to be sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) for formal testing.

Phillips was transported to the Cumberland County Jail without further incident and faces charges of tampering with evidence and the manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession of methamphetamine, with a total bond set at $8,500 and a court date scheduled for July 13, 2026.

The charges and allegations referenced in this report are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.