The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department Feb. 10-16, 2023.
Feb. 10
Deputy Joiner was dispatched to the area of Lite N Tie Road in reference to an accident with possible injuries. When Joiner arrived, he made contact with a male subject sitting down in the grass next to the vehicle. Deputy Harden had also arrived on scene just prior to Joiner getting there.
Harden approached Joiner and advised that the male was possibly intoxicated. EMS arrived on scene, but the male had previously refused medical treatment. While the female EMS responder was briefly speaking to the subject, the subject was referring to her as “sir” and had very slurred speech. Joiner had the male driver to stand beside his patrol car so the deputy could conduct a standardized field sobriety test. Joiner asked the male if he had any alcoholic drinks, and the male told the deputy he had two drinks earlier that day.
Joiner noticed that his body camera was malfunctioning, so deputy Harden conducted the field test on the subject. Once done with the test, Harden advised Joiner that the subject failed the sobriety test and was intoxicated. The male driver was placed under arrest at that time and transported to the Jones County Jail where he was issued citations for DUI under age 21 and open container in motor vehicle, then turned over to jail staff.
Feb. 11
Deputy Sullivan was on patrol when he checked a vehicle license plate for routine registration verification. When the info came back it showed that the registered owner of the vehicle had a suspended license. Also, Sullivan noticed that the tag number showed it was registered to a totally different vehicle. The deputy initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. When Sullivan made contact with the driver, the male advised the deputy that he had taken the license plate off of his dad’s truck and put it on the vehicle he was driving.
The subject also told the deputy the vehicle had no registration.
Sullivan asked the male for his driver’s license and the subject handed him an identification card, not his license, and advised his driver’s license was probably not valid. The deputy verified that the driver did not have a valid driver’s license.
Sullivan then advised the male that he was under arrest and transported the subject to the Jones County LEC. The male was issued citations for driving while unlicensed, no insurance, driving an unregistered vehicle, and altering a license plate in attempt to conceal vehicle information then turned over to jail staff for booking.
Deputy Sullivan was checking routine registration near Highway 49 when he ran the information on a vehicle. The information came back to show there was no insurance on the vehicle. Sullivan conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the female driver. At that time, an 18-wheeler also pulled over for the stop. The owner of the vehicle was actually driving the 18-wheeler. The owner advised Sullivan that they were having money issues and could not afford the insurance.
Sullivan noticed the odor of marijuana inside the vehicle and found that the female driver’s children were asleep in the back seat of the vehicle and not wearing a seat belt. The deputy had the driver step out of the vehicle and advised her she was under arrest for no insurance. Sullivan then found a small bag containing suspected marijuana in a wrapper that said, “premium cannabis.” The male that was driving the 18-wheeler took the children and the female driver was transported to the Jones County LEC for no insurance and a warning citation for child seat belt requirements.
