In a period last week of less than 36 hours, the Commerce Police Department made four drunk driving arrests and one arrest for drug possession following routine traffic stops on the U.S. 441 bypass.
All five suspects were treated to a night at the Jackson County Jail.
At 2:52 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, an officer pulled over a vehicle because it failed to move over when approaching the officer’s car, which had its blue lights on.
David Chase Martin, 26, 249 Williams Road, Oxford, told the officer he didn’t see the officer’s vehicle “until I was following too close.”
If the lack of logic in that answer was not a clue, the officer quickly noted that Martin had bloodshot eyes and fumbled with his cell phone, dropping it, according to the incident report. When asked if he’d had anything to drink, Martin gave the classic DUI suspect response: “two beers.”
Submission to the roadside alcosensor test produced a reading of .162, double the .080 threshold for a driving under the influence (DUI) charge.
The officer ended up charging Martin with DUI, failure to move over and driving with a suspended license.
A female passenger in the vehicle told the officer she “tried to tell Martin he shouldn’t drive,” the report noted.
Less than an hour later, another officer pulled over Emmy Hamilton McDaniel, 19, 421 Bradley Avenue, Bishop, for failure to dim her headlights. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer reported the smell of alcohol — and McDaniel’s glassy eyes and the fact that she avoided eye contact.
The driver explained that she and the passengers were returning from a concert in Athens. The officer asked who in the vehicle had been drinking. Just one occupant, a passenger, admitted having a drink.
A roadside breath test showed a .099 level for McDaniel, who subsequently admitted to having a “Double Deuce” beer at the concert. The officer also found an open 12-ounce Bud Light beer under the driver’s seat.
He charged McDaniel with DUI under 21, possession of alcohol by a minor, violation of the open container law and failure to dim headlights.
That evening at about 10, another officer pulled over Felton Lowe Jr., 58, 2057 Henry Hill Road, Tignall, for failure to maintain a lane on U.S. 441 northbound. The officer had also noticed that Lowe’s vehicle was traveling well below the speed limit.
Upon approaching, the officer observed Lowe leaning over and picking up a Mason jar of clear liquid and relocating it to the passenger-side floor. The officer also noted the smell of alcohol, Lowe’s watery eyes, flushed complexion and un-zipped overalls.
Upon questioning, Lowe said he’d had one drink, the report said. It also indicated that Lowe flunked a field sobriety test and blew a .167 on the Intoxilyzer 5000 at the police station.
The report said the officer recovered two more jars of clear liquid during a search of the vehicle.
Back out on 441 northbound the following morning at 1:44, an officer noticed a vehicle in the left turn lane at Homer Road suddenly make a hard right turn, drive into the gore area, and turn left onto Homer Road.
Naturally, the officer pulled the vehicle over to see what was going on. He reported the smell of alcohol.
According to the arrest report, Cortney Marie Lis, 19, 436 Beaver Creek Way, Cleveland, told him she and her passenger were returning from the Mad Hatter in Athens where she had not used any alcohol.
Nonetheless, the roadside alcosensor produced a “high positive” reading of .062, according to the officer, after which Lis admitted she’d lied about her abstinence that evening. The report indicated that Lis flunked a field sobriety test and that the officer found two open Bud Light beers in the vehicle — both claimed by a male passenger.
She was charged with DUI under 21, driving in the gore area, underage consumption of alcohol and violation of her Class D driver’s license.
Tag Light Violation Causes Drug Arrest
At 9:30 p.m. Sunday evening, an officer on U.S. 441 pulled over Stephanie A. Moore, 21, 4961 Zander Road, Hopkinsville, KY, because of a tag light violation.
Next, he found that the tag on her vehicle was not registered for the vehicle. In a search, the officer reported finding in an Aleve bottle a pink pill later identified as a Lortab.
“That’s my girlfriend’s,” Moore reportedly told the officer, who arrested her just the same.
She was charged with possession of a Schedule III narcotic, possession of a drug not in its original container, operation of an unregistered vehicle — and the tag light violation.
The officer also noted that the vehicle identification number did not match the VIN number on her insurance card.
