On March 8, 2026, at approximately 11:15 PM, Deputy Breanna Freeman of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in Crossville, Tennessee, initiated a traffic stop on Highway 127 North (just past Tabor Loop) for a gold Cadillac. The registration check showed the plate belonged to a Ford Edge, raising suspicion. The vehicle did not stop immediately after the deputy activated emergency lights but eventually pulled over a short distance later.

The driver was identified, but not arrested. Candie Renee Houston, a 48-year-old white female resident of Tabor Loop, was the passenger. Houston exhibited extreme nervousness, avoided eye contact, and seemed reluctant to answer questions, while the driver repeatedly attempted to answer for her. Based on prior knowledge of both individuals’ heavy involvement with narcotics and her behavior, the deputy asked both to exit the vehicle.

Upon Houston exiting the passenger side, the deputy observed an almost full roll of aluminum foil in the passenger door pocket near her feet; she denied knowledge of it. As the driver exited, a straight-cut piece of aluminum foil was seen in the driver’s area. Given the deputy’s training and experience that such items are commonly used for packaging and distributing narcotics, probable cause was established to search the vehicle.

The search revealed a digital scale in the glove box on the passenger side, within Houston’s immediate reach. Houston stated the vehicle belonged to her. She was placed into custody at that point. During transport to the jail, Houston admitted to concealing narcotics. At the jail, a strip search conducted by Deputy Freeman and Corrections Deputy Whitney Aytes revealed Houston removing a large plastic bag containing a white powdery substance believed to be fentanyl (approximately 9.15 grams) and a small straight-cut piece of aluminum foil with a similar substance (approximately 0.48 grams), for a total of about 9.63 grams. The evidence was seized and sent to a lab for testing.

Houston was arrested on-view on March 8, 2026, at 11:41 PM, and charged with manufacturing, delivering, or selling a controlled substance. She faces a court date on April 13, 2026, at 8:30 AM, with a $15,000 bond set.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release 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.