Martin Dodge has been charged by federal authorities with making regular deliveries of ice meth to Chattanooga.
Dodge is charged at Chattanooga Federal Court with selling meth and possession of a firearm while doing so.
Drug Task Force Agent Jamie Hixson said he was contacted on May 1 by a confidential source that "TJ" Sims and "Marty" were staying at the Comfort Inn on Williams Street.
The source said "TJ" and "Marty" were in possession of four ounces of "ice" methamphetamine and that the CS believed "Marty" was possibly the source for that methamphetamine. The CS said that "TJ" was driving a red Nissan Sentra and "Marty" was driving a black Dodge Charger.
The agent said he drove to the Comfort Inn on Williams Street and observed a black Dodge Charger parked on the lot. He notified Sgt. Jason Lewis of the Chattanooga Police Department, and he stopped the red Nissan Sentra on Williams Street in Chattanooga. Sgt. Lewis said the driver was identified as Timothy Sims and was found to be driving without a license.
A search of Sims' vehicle resulted in the seizure of approximately five ounces of ice methamphetamine.
Sims told authorities he had purchased the methamphetamine recovered from his car from Martin Dodge and another individual. He said Dodge had been making trips to Chattanooga delivering six to eight ounces of ice methamphetamine on a daily basis for several months. Sims also confirmed that Dodge was driving the black Dodge Charger rental car parked at the Comfort Inn.
A surveillance team was established on the lot of Comfort Inn on Williams Street. At approximately 6:45 p.m., police saw Dodge leave the hotel in the Dodge Charger along with two passengers. After the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Williams Street and 25th Street, police initiated a traffic stop.
Dodge told officers that there was a gun in the trunk. The vehicle was searched. The officers recovered two guns and approximately one ounce of ice methamphetamine in the trunk. Dodge said the drugs and the guns were his. The defendant later admitted that he possessed the guns because he had recently been shot and robbed during a drug transaction.