Amarillo man’s attorney: Seized drugs worth $32,000 should be tossed out

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - An Amarillo man facing federal and state drug charges is looking to have evidence suppressed.

Officers with Amarillo Police Department arrested Tavarus Tywane Drone on January 30 on an arrest warrant issued for violating his bond conditions.

Drone is charged with several felonies in connection with a shooting dated August 2025 that happened in Potter County.

When police got the arrest warrant for Drone, they went looking for him and spotted his car in the drive way of a home near South Nelson Street and Longhorn Trail.

Police arrested him in the front yard and found a baggie with 32 grams of marijuana and nearly $6,000 in cash in each of Drone’s pockets.

Because of the large quantity of marijuana and cash, police suspected there was a strong chance of there being more drugs and cash in Drone’s car.

They asked Drone for consent to search, which he denied. The officers then conducted a probable cause search of Drone’s car and found about 320 grams of methamphetamine inside a backpack on the floorboard of Drone’s car.

Federal court documents describe how an additional 30 grams of cocaine and digital scales were found in another bag in the car. Police were able to use the seized evidence to obtain a search warrant for Drone’s phone.

The phone also showed evidence that Drone was involved in the drug trade.

As a result, Drone faces a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

In a motion to suppress filed last week, Drone’s attorney says that when police spotted him, they pulled up behind Drone’s car and blocked him in the driveway of a private property in order to arrest him.

The attorney goes on to say that Drove was arrested “approximately 20-30 feet away from and outside of his vehicle.”

The argument used by Drone’s attorney is:

Because Drone was taken into custody 20-30 feet away from the car without incident, was legally parked on private property, and there was no reason to think that he would destroy evidence or resist arrest, the seized drugs should be thrown out of court.

Drone’s attorney, Paul Herrmann, asked the judge for a hearing to review the evidence--which consists of body cam footage and a written incident report from the police officer.

The prosecuting attorney filed a reply to Herrmann and Drone’s motion to suppress on Tuesday.

In that reply, the Government cites case law that explains there is an exception allowing police to search a car if they have reason to believe there are drugs in the car.

Because they arrested Drone on an arrest warrant and had a substantial quantity of marijuana and cash in his pockets at that time--there was reason to believe there could be more drugs in his car.

The prosecutor also argued that the private driveway that Drone parked in was connected to a public sidewalk.

Judge Matthew J. Kacksmaryk will make a decision on whether or not to grant the hearing and review the evidence in the coming weeks.