LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – James Franklin Norris, a man with a lengthy arrest record, remains housed this morning in the Campbell County Jail on multiple charges stemming from a Saturday morning car accident, according to a jail official.

Campbell County Sheriff’s Deputy John Minor responded to the 11:30am incident at 241 Goins Lake Lane, La Follette. When the deputy arrived, he found an extensively damaged 2003 Pontiac G6 Sedan backed into a yard. Minor soon located the 51-year-old Norris sitting on the porch of the home where the car was parked.

Minor told WLAF News that Norris’s car allegedly hit a stump on the side of the road, though he was not injured. Based on the deputy’s report, Minor knew Norris and noticed a chrome pipe in Norris’s hand. The deputy said this type of pipe is commonly used to smoke marijuana.

Initially, Norris denied he was driving, and then said allegedly he was bringing the car to a friend in order to sell it, according to the arrest report. The deputy noticed there were .22 caliber shells sticking out of the car’s center console. Minor soon learned Norris was not allowed to possess weapons and that he was on probation.

When Minor asked if he could search the car, Norris stated that he didn’t know why he would want to search his car. The deputy allegedly found a loaded black pistol, a bag with a brown powder inside it believed to be Heroin, along with 25 pills thought to be a mixture of Gabapentin and Clonazepam.

Norris was charged with violation of probation, leaving the scene of an accident, possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, driving/moving an unregistered vehicle, a 5th offense of driving while revoked/suspended and violation of the Tennessee financial law. Drug charges Norris faces are possession of schedule I, IV and V controlled substances along with possession of drug paraphernalia.

A Nov. 1 court date awaits Norris who is still in jail this morning on a $30,000 secure bond. Norris lists his address as 896 Glade Springs Road, La Follette. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 10/18/2022-6AM)