SUPERIOR COURT
A defendant in a drug trafficking case that started with a traffic stop in Gray was denied bond in Jones County Superior Court last week.
Cedric Walter Whitehead was arrested Feb. 12 on multiple charges and was in court April 6, represented by Defense Attorney Melvin Raines, seeking a bond.
Whitehead’s charges include trafficking in ecstasy, possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana. He was also charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of drug related objects.
Raines told the court his client lives in Macon and has lived in Middle Georgia his entire life. He noted that Whitehead has had no felony charges since 2003 and was employed at the time of his arrest.
The attorney asked for a bond in an amount commensurate with the charges.
Superior Court Judge Terry Massey said he was concerned with the amount of ecstasy and denied bond. The order denying bond listed the reason for the denial that the defendant poses a significant threat or danger to another person or the community.
Arrest report
A report of the arrest by Gray Police Department Officer Daniel Pointer states that he was running radar on the Highway 18E Connector near Stone Brooke Drive when he was alerted to a vehicle traveling 62 mph in a 45-mph zone.
Pointer said he conducted a traffic stop on the black Buick Lacrosse and explained to the driver why he was stopped. Whitehead was the driver, and the officer said a check of his license revealed his license was suspended.
Pointer said Whitehead was asked to exit the vehicle, and while speaking to him, the odor of marijuana was detected. The officer said he conducted a contraband search on the driver and found a baggy of marijuana in his jacket pocket.
Whitehead was taken into custody, and Pointer said the suspect was placed in the backseat of his patrol car. GPD Officer Paul Hathaway, who arrived to assist, asked the passenger, Denika Stanley, to step out of the car. Pointer said Hathaway advised him that the vehicle smelled of marijuana.
Pointer said a check of Stanley showed no warrants, and she was released from the scene.
The officer said a search of the vehicle on the driver’s side located more marijuana in the console and Hathaway located a cross backpack in the passenger floorboard. Items found inside the backpack were a quantity of clear baggies, digital scale, marijuana, cocaine and a large bag of suspected MDMA/ ecstasy pills of various colors.
Pointer said further search of the vehicle found a loaded Smith and Wesson handgun under the passenger’s seat. He said all the evidence was gathered and placed in his patrol car. Whitehead was transported to the Jones County Law Enforcement Center and warrants secured for his arrest.
Warrants were later issued for Stanley, following Pointer’s further investigation into the case.
