FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A man who drove into restricted lanes leading to the main gate at CIA headquarters in Fairfax County was charged with possession of a controlled substance, according to federal court documents.
Zachary Christopher Brown approached the gate in a Ford Escape with a Michigan license plate at about 11:45 a.m. Friday, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The vehicle passed restricted-area signs, three turnarounds for unauthorized visitors and a traffic-control chicane before reaching a guardhouse, the affidavit said.
Brown showed a passport but did not have authorized credentials, according to the affidavit submitted by a member of the CIA police.
Brown twice denied having weapons when questioned by officers, the affidavit said. When asked a third time, Brown began reaching between his body and the center console and indicated that he might have a knife, according to the affidavit.
Officers directed Brown to stop reaching, removed him from the vehicle and seated him on a curb, the affidavit said. Brown then gave officers verbal consent to search the vehicle.
CIA police found a 9-inch Smith & Wesson fixed-blade knife beneath the driver's seat, according to the affidavit. The knife had a dual-edged, 4.75-inch spear-point blade.
After officers recovered the knife, Brown told them he had methamphetamine in the center console, the affidavit said. Officers found two plastic bags inside a pill bottle. One contained a crystalline substance, and the other contained powder.
Both substances produced presumptive positive results for methamphetamine, according to CIA police.
A search conducted before the vehicle was towed also uncovered prescription pill bottles, two folding knives, a rifle scope, a pistol gun safe and a scale, the affidavit said.
A records check showed that Brown had an unspecified arrest warrant and did not have a driver's license, according to the affidavit. The vehicle was registered to one of Brown's relatives in Florida.
A criminal complaint filed Saturday charged Brown with violating a federal law prohibiting possession of a controlled substance. The affidavit said a violation of the cited statute carries a possible sentence of up to one year in prison.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala appointed the Office of the Federal Public Defender to represent Brown on Friday, according to the court docket. Sean Carlton Mitchell was appointed as Brown's attorney.
The docket listed the drug-possession complaint without a disposition as of Monday, Aug. 31.
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