Laurel man arrested after traffic stop uncovers drugs, stolen gun

Deputies in Caroline County arrested a Laurel man after a traffic stop on Shore Highway outside Ridgely uncovered a cache of drugs and a stolen handgun in his white GMC Sierra 1500. Ryan Gerald Dailey, 38, was held without bond at the Caroline County Detention Center.

The stop began about 7:21 p.m. Thursday, June 25, after the Caroline County Communications Center received a report of a vehicle being driven recklessly and negligently on Route 404, also known as Shore Highway, in the Ridgely area, south of Ridgely and west of Denton. Deputies were already nearby and responded immediately near Shore Highway and Downes Station Road. Dailey, who lives in Laurel, Maryland, told deputies a large pit bull in the back seat was causing his erratic driving.

A K-9 scan of the pickup, which had Pennsylvania registration, alerted deputies to illegal narcotics. Inside, officers found heroin, fentanyl, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, Suboxone strips, hypodermic needles, a cutting agent and a digital scale with CDS residue. The mix and quantity of drugs were consistent with possession with intent to distribute.

Officers also found a loaded .380 caliber handgun in the center console. The firearm had been reported stolen out of New Castle, Delaware. Dailey was charged with handgun in a vehicle, CDS distribution, firearm use in a felony or violent crime, firearm and drug trafficking crime, illegal possession of a regulated firearm and transporting a loaded handgun on a public roadway. The arrest was made by the Caroline County Sheriff's Office, the county’s primary law enforcement agency under Sheriff Donald L. Baker, Jr.