Bonnaroo visitor had rights violated, attorney says-Sharp contends his client had just checked

A local attorney outraged at what he believes to be profiling of Bonnaroo travelers is offering his services free of charge to any out-of-towner cited by Warren County authorities during their trip to, or from, the festival.
‘If they are speeding or DUI, we need to stop them,’ said local attorney Bud Sharp, who is handling the case of a Virginia man and his teen-age daughter whose vehicle was stopped and searched Thursday as they were heading to Bonnaroo. ‘But unless they are acting the fool, leave them alone.’
Sharp said he was outraged by the story told to him by his Virginia client who said he was pulled over by a deputy on the bypass for an alleged taillight violation.
‘My client said he had just checked his taillight since he was pulling a trailer and nothing was wrong with it,’ Sharp said. ‘Then this officer said he smelled marijuana and asked to search his vehicle. The officer asked why not when my client refused, and my client told him there was still a Fourth Amendment as far as he knew.’
Sharp said his client and teen-age daughter were taken out of the vehicle and forced to sit on the side of the road for hours while a drug dog walked around the vehicle. Sharp added there were six patrol cars used in the search, causing an ordinary stop to become a spectacle.
In the end, a small amount of marijuana was found and his client was cited and allowed to keep driving to Bonnaroo.
‘They detained my client for over three hours over a roach (remnant of a marijuana cigarette),’ said Sharp, saying he is also talking with another person from West Virginia about free representation. ‘I will be filing a motion to suppress any evidence found due to violation of my client’s constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure.’
Sheriff Jackie Matheny earlier defended the actions of his men, noting his officer smelled marijuana when the stop was made.
‘The officer smelled what he knew to be marijuana,’ Sheriff Matheny said. ‘He can’t just let him go and hope he doesn’t wreck and hurt somebody if he’s using marijuana.’
Matheny said the number of sheriff’s department vehicles were there to help speed along the search since it included both a vehicle and a large pull-behind trailer. Specifically, Matheny said he and the deputy were searching one vehicle, while drug officers were searching the trailer. A fifth officer was keeping an eye on the suspects, while a sixth was working traffic since the search was obstructing one lane of the bypass.
However, Sharp still believes lawmen are unfairly targeting out-of-state vehicles during Bonnaroo, noting he believes that hurts everyone here.
‘What is happening, during these hard economic times here, is that word is getting around and folks are bypassing Warren County,’ Sharp said. ‘That means they aren’t stopping and spending money here at our stores and restaurants.’
Five years ago, General Sessions Judge Larry Ross dismissed 24 citations handed out to festival-goers because he felt they had come as part of profiling.

‘The officer smelled what he knew to be marijuana. He can’t just let him go and hope he doesn’t wreck and hurt somebody if he’s using marijuana.’
‘ Sheriff Jackie Matheny