Half of the Commerce Police Department’s arrests for the past week involved drugs and/or alcohol, including five persons cited for driving under the influence (DUI) of intoxicants.
Six cases involved illegal drugs.
That included the arrest of Benjamin Gillespie Jr., 48, of 25 Bennett Street, Commerce, who was arrested after an officer saw him in a yard and knew there was a warrant for his arrest.
The officer also knew that Gillespie was prone to run and tried to talk him out of fleeing, to no avail, according to the arrest report.
Upon catching him and handcuffing him, police allegedly recovered a white lip balm container that had small amounts of both powdered and crack cocaine.
They charged him with possession of cocaine, violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, possession of a tool for the commission of a crime and obstruction.
Others arrested or cited during the past week include:
•Starlet Evelyn Fortner, 27, 146 Pine Street, Commerce, DUI-drugs, misdemeanor possession of alcohol, possession of prescription drugs not in the original container, possession of Schedule III, IV or V drugs, driving with a suspended registration and driving without a license. She was pulled over after a lookout was placed on her vehicle for erratic driving. According to the arrest report, she admitted taking prescription medications before driving. Police also recovered 12 smoked marijuana cigarettes and one un-smoked joint, and eight prescription bottles.
•Tracy Graham, 38, 110 B. Wilson Road, Commerce, DUI-drugs and impeding the flow of traffic. The arrest came after an officer observed her apparently asleep at the wheel at the intersection of Hwy. 98 and U.S. 441. The suspect allegedly admitted taking four Methadone and one Prozac prior to driving.
•Timothy Michael Swain, 26, 1209 Sycamore Road, Kinston, NC, misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
•William Carter Taylor, 36, 404 Lucerne Drive, Spartanburg, SC, DUI and failure to maintain a lane.
•Jason Lamar Shelton, 32, 2360 West Broad Street, Apt. L6, Athens, DUI, failure to maintain a lane and violation of the open container law.
•Jonathan Demond Beasley, 23, 580 Homer Road, DUI-alcohol and violation of the noise ordinance. It was the latter charge — stemming from his radio — that attracted the officer’s attention.
•Tina Lynn Coleman, 38, 168 Highland Estates, Commerce, possession of a tool for the commission of a crime, theft by conversion and violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. She was apprehended at Fred’s, South Elm Street, where staff claimed she shoplifted. Police found a single propoxyphene tablet and two syringes with white residue in her purse, the arrest report said.
•Tyrus Duran Cornish, 30, 127 Pine Avenue, Commerce, possession of cocaine and a warrant for probation violation. He was a passenger in a vehicle the officer pulled over because he recognized Cornish and knew of the warrant. The cocaine was found during a search at the Jackson County Jail.
•John Cameron Bostick, 47, 191 Lewis Circle, Commerce, shoplifting. He allegedly wheeled a full grocery cart out of Ingles without paying. Police recovered six “suitcases” of beer and three bottles of Tide at a Pine Street residence where a witness claimed Bostick had told her to hide the items in her house and vehicle shortly before police arrived. According to the arrest report, he is also a suspect in a similar case at the Jefferson Kroger.
•Gordon Daniel Wright, 42, 155 Applewood, Fruita, CO, driving with a suspended license, improper U-turn and improper stopping in the roadway.
•Daniel Alberto Ochoa, 42, 240 Elizabeth Street, Commerce, arrested on a Hall County warrant for failure to appear after being pulled over for a traffic violation.
•Patrice Janelle Adams, 19, 310 Spratlin Drive, Jefferson, on an unspecified warrant from Riverdale.
•Greg Louie Pierce, 35, 534 Groaning Rock Road, Commerce, battery and disorderly conduct after he allegedly attacked his estranged wife at Video Warehouse.
•Mack Arthur Hardeman, 45, 394 Cedar Drive, Commerce, simple battery after he allegedly entered the apartment of a 32-year-old black female, warned that he would “get her one way or another” and struck her in the mouth.
•Hendry Ledara Watson, 31, 2059 Hwy. 441, Homer, probation violation.
•Faustino Nino-Luna, 21, 1066 Hwy. 85, Senoia, driving without a license.
•Timothy Shane Ayers, 39, 993 Reno Road, Royston, driving with a suspended license. He was pulled over on a windshield violation after an officer saw him leave a house known for the sale of drugs.
•Delores Y. Palmer, 54, 304 Woodpecker Lane, Nicholson, no insurance and driving with a suspended registration.
