The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department Feb. 14-20, 2025.
Feb. 14
Two active warrants
Deputy Brown was on Highway 49 when he was contacted by Inv.
Hall and advised that a vehicle driven by a female subject that had two warrants was headed in his direction. Brown waited for the vehicle to pass by him and ran the license plate, however, the GCIC system did not show her as wanted at that time. Brown was following behind the female driver and her speed started dropping from 55 to 40 mph. Brown activated his blue lights and sirens for the driver to stop. Once the female driver stopped, the deputy made contact with her and advised that he was checking to make sure she was okay since the drop in her speed.
At that time, Brown ran the female subject’s driver’s license and was able to confirm that the warrants were active through Jones County.
The deputy asked the female to exit the vehicle and she was placed in handcuffs. The deputy patted the female subject down to check for weapons and called the next available wrecker service to pick up the vehicle. While Brown was doing an inventory check of the vehicle, he found a box sitting on the front seat that had a clear baggierolledupinsideofit. The baggie was removed from the box and unrolled. Inside the bag was white crystals thought to be methamphetamine. The wrecker service arrived on scene and Brown had them tow the vehicle to the Sheriff’s Office and place it in the impound lot. The female was transported to the Jones County LEC where she was read her warrants and turned over to jail staff.
No license and pot found
Lt. Carr was monitoring traffic on Highway 49 when he observed a vehicle pass in front of him with a busted passenger side taillight.
Carr also noticed there was a drive out tag on the vehicle with an expiration date of 2023. The lieutenant pulled out behind the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The vehicle came to a stop and Carr approached. Contact was made with the male driver and two male passengers. The driver identified himself and advised Carr that the vehicle had been sitting for a while and they just got it up and running. The male driver also advised he knew the tag was not valid and did not belong on the vehicle. While speaking to the male driver, Carr noticed the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.
Deputy Marcum arrived on scene to assist with the stop. Carr had the driver exit the vehicle and cleared him of any weapons.
The other two male passengers were asked to exit the vehicle and they were also cleared of any weapons. The lieutenant asked all three males about the odor of marijuana. All three subjects stated there was no marijuana inside the vehicle. Carr decided to do a probable cause search. In the back seat, at the passenger’s feet, Carr located a book bag.
Inside the bag, Carr found three small baggies that contained marijuana. The rear passenger was advised he was being placed under arrest for possession of marijuana less than one ounce.
Dispatch then alerted Carr that the male driver was unlicensed. Carr then placed the male driver in handcuffs and advised him he was under arrest for driving while unlicensed and no insurance. Marcum transported two of the male subjects to the Jones County LEC while Carr waited on the next available wrecker service to pick up the vehicle. Once Carr returned to the LEC, he issued tickets to the male driver for driving while unlicensed, no insurance, and affixing a tag to mislead then turned him over to jail staff. The rear passenger was issued a citation for possession of marijuana less than an ounce and turned over to jail staff for booking.
What accident?
Deputy Patterson was dispatched to Gray Highway in reference to a traffic accident. When he arrived on scene, he saw a vehicle with extensive front end damage and a male laying on the ground next to the vehicle with his head bleeding. The subject stated he was in pain from his hips to his legs. The male also had a large bleeding cut on his head. Patterson radioed dispatch to send an ambulance to the scene. The deputy then noticed a second vehicle facing south bound in the north bound lane. That vehicle also had extensive damage to the rear. Patterson asked a witness if anyone had checked on the occupants of the other vehicle and she advised no. The deputy started walking towards the vehicle and it started to drive off. Patterson was able to stop the driver of the vehicle and motioned for the driver to roll down his window. When the male driver rolled the window down, Patterson noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from insidethevehicle. Also,boththedriver and passenger had their seat laid all the way back like they were sleeping.
The driver then asked the deputy what was going on. Patterson advised the male that he was just involved in an accident. In confusion, the male driver looked at Patterson and said, “what accident?” The male driver seemed to be totally unaware he was just involved in the accident. The deputy also noticed the driver’s eyes were very glassy and bloodshot. The male acted very confused and didn’t believe Patterson about the accident. Patterson asked the male driver to step out of the vehicle and check the vehicle himself.
When the driver stepped out, he was unsteady on his feet. The male driver then went to the rear of his vehicle and in amazement stated, “what happened to the car?” The driver still seemed to be unaware of what just happened.
Patterson asked the male driver for his license and the male subject advised he did not have one. Patterson then asked the male passenger if he was ok, and he advised he was. The deputy asked if they had been drinking, and the male passenger replied no. Patterson then asked the male if they had been smoking marijuana. The male passenger replied he had. There was also a female passenger in the back seat that Patterson had to help out of the vehicle due to her door being jammed. As Patterson was helping the female out of the vehicle, he found the driver’s wallet with a North Carolina ID card in it. Patterson had dispatch run the driver’s information and it came back to show his license was suspended and he also had a warrant from the A.T.F. out of North Carolina.
The deputy advised the male driver he was going to do a field sobriety test and Patterson asked if there were any medical conditions that would keep him from doing the test. The male replied no. The first test conducted was the walk and turn. Patterson gave the male instructions and told the male to begin.
The male driver took two steps and stepped off the line. Patterson advised it was ok and for the male to try again. On the second attempt, the male driver took two steps and almost fell backwards.
The male then walked away and refused the rest of the tests. Patterson then placed the male under arrest for DUI.
As Patterson was placing the male driver in his patrol vehicle, the male stated that he was not driving the vehicle.
Patterson let the male know that he saw him behind the wheel of the vehicle.
The deputy then read the male driver the Georgia Implied Consent and asked for his blood. Patterson then spoke to the female passenger and asked for her ID. The female subject gave the deputy a North Carolina ID card, and Patterson had dispatch run her information. The information on the female showed her license was suspended out of North Carolina. The vehicle belonged to the female passenger. She was also placed under arrest for allowing another to driver to drive while unlicensed. Both subjects were then transported to the Jones County LEC. A search warrant was obtained to get blood from the male driver and was served to him at the jail.
Feb. 19
Crack cocaine, marijuana and open container
Lt. Hunnicutt was patrolling the area of West Clinton Street and Bill Conn Parkway when he ran a routine check on a vehicle for insurance and registration. The information that came back from the GCIC system showed that the registered owner currently had a suspended license. Hunnicutt activated his blue lights and siren and the driver pulled over into a nearby parking lot.
When Hunnicutt made contact with the male driver, he realized that he had dealt with the subject in the past and knew who the driver was. The lieutenant also noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.
Hunnicutt advised the male driver that he was stopped due to his license being suspended. The driver advised Hunnicutt that he needed to turn the vehicle off, but he had to do that under the hood of the vehicle. Hunnicutt also advised the driver he could smell the marijuana, placed the driver under arrest and began searching the vehicle. Sitting next to the driver was a small brown bag. Inside the bag was a cigarette pack with the top missing and inside was a piece of suspected crack cocaine. There was also a pack of rolling papers and at the bottom of the cigarette pack was several clumps of marijuana.
Hunnicutt also found an open container of Fireball alcohol. At that time, Officer Josey arrived on scene and transported the male subject to the LEC. Hunnicutt made contact with a Magistrate judge and obtained a warrant for possession of crack cocaine. The driver was also charged with possession of marijuana less than one-ounce, open container violation and driving on suspended license.
Feb. 20
Wanted subject
Lt. Hunnicutt was patrolling the area of Gray Highway and the Gray Bypass when he ran a tag number to check for valid registration. When he entered the tag into the GCIC system, it came back to show that the registered owner was currently wanted out of Henry County for cruelty to children and simple battery. At that time, Hunnicutt activated his blue lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop. Hunnicutt made contact with the male driver and confirmed he was the wanted subject.
The lieutenant had the male exit the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs and advised the male that he had warrants out for his arrest. Hunnicutt checked the subject for weapons and found a Glock pistol on the driver’s front waist band. The gun was checked through the GCIC system, and it had no record.
The gun was secured at that time. The vehicle was turned over to the male driver’s brother and Officer Josey transported the subject to the LEC.
