Traffic stops lead to drug charges

Marty Christian Davis, 38, P.O. Box 723, Buchanan, was the front-seat passenger in a vehicle pulled over after an officer observed the vehicle switch lanes without signaling and then following another vehicle too closely.
The officer approached the passenger side, noting that Davis was holding a pit bull in his lap and that the dog “became agitated” as the officer neared.
The driver, a white female, apologized for the traffic mishaps, saying she was not used to the vehicle. The report did not indicate what tipped the officer off, but he asked the driver if she and Davis were on probation, to which the driver answered in the affirmative — they were on probation for possession of methamphetamine.
The driver consented to a search, according to the incident report, and the officer allegedly found a camouflage bag on the back floor that contained a Dr. Pepper soda can with a false bottom, inside which the officer found a clear bag containing a half ounce of methamphetamine, a set of digital scales and a pipe.
The driver, the report said, immediately claimed ownership of the contraband, but after police discovered a prescription bottle on Davis, Davis reportedly declared ownership.
The report noted that police also confiscated $3,900 in cash “for possible seizure.”
Davis was charged with possession of methamphetamine.

Other Charges

The Commerce Police Department also made the following cases last week:

•Jason C. Haygood, 28, 5477 Martin’s Crossing Road, Stone Mountain, misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over on I-85 for a window tint violation. The arresting officer said he observed Haygood apparently trying to conceal something. The officer also said that he noted the smell of burnt marijuana and asked the occupants if there were any guns, knives or contraband in the vehicle, and was assured there were not. Upon searching (with the owner’s permission) the officer immediately noted a Jimenez 9 mm handgun in the passenger door pocket. Upon patting down Haygood, an officer found a pill container with a small amount of marijuana in a pants pocket, three pink “jewelry baggies” of marijuana under the passenger’s seat and a clear bag of marijuana on the back floorboard. The report said Haygood accepted responsibility for all of the marijuana. It also noted that the gun was found not to be stolen and was placed in the trunk of the vehicle.

•Hoyt A. Money, 50, 3655 Neese Commerce Road, Hull, and Jason Matthew Money, 31, 399 Buford Carey Road, Hull, both charged with possession of a Schedule 3 narcotic (Lortab) and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. The elder Money was also charged with driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, driving in the gore area and a tail light violation. It was the tail light violation that led the officer to pull the vehicle over on U.S. 441 southbound at Hwy. 98 (Ila Road). The officer reported noting the “overwhelming odor” of alcohol upon approaching the vehicle. Hoyt Money, who was driving, said that the vehicle was not his and he was unaware that a taillight was out. He denied drinking, and Jason Money told the officer that they were returning from Wild Bill’s where he (Jason Money) had been drinking. Hoyt Money consented to a roadside alcosensor test, the officer said, and tested over the DUI limit. Another officer reportedly found a small amount of marijuana and two pills – later determined to be Lortab — in a compartment under the vehicle’s radio. In a pat down of Jason Money, an officer allegedly recovered another half pill that matched the pills found under the radio. Both suspects denied ownership of the items found under the radio.

•Marquez Tishawn Mercer, 28, 522 Parkview Road, Unit 5, Fort Walton Beach, FL, driving without a license. He was pulled over on I-85 for a window tent violation. The officer cited the passenger, who owned the vehicle, for allowing an unlicensed person to drive the vehicle.

•Weyman Howell, 54, and Elijah Royce Jones, 58, both of 42 King Street, simple battery under the Family Violence Act. Jones was also charged with giving false information to police. There were no details on the arrest report.

•Cindy Ann Stamey, 38, 155 Freeman Fowler Lane, Danielsville, no proof of insurance and improper transfer of a license tag. The tag on the 1999 Kia returned to a 1990 Chevrolet Blazer, according to the police officer, who pulled the vehicle over on U.S. 441 northbound at W.E. King Road for the tag violation.