The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department April 13-16, 2024.
April 13
Driver and passenger arrested
Dep. Mattox was on patrol when she observed a vehicle with a front passenger headlight out. Mattox proceeded to get behind the vehicle and also noticed there were no tag lights on the vehicle. At that time, the deputy activated her blue lights and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. Mattox made contact with the male driver, a male front seat passenger and a male rear seat passenger. The deputy noticed a very strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The deputy also observed the male driver had very slow and slurred speech and he had bloodshot watery eyes. Mattox asked the male driver for his license and the male advised the deputy that he did not have them on him. Mattox did a check of the male through the NCIC system, and it showed that the male did indeed have a valid license and everything on the vehicle was valid also. The deputy advised the occupants that due to the odor of marijuana she was going to search the vehicle. Mattox had the driver step out of the vehicle and patted him down for weapons and he was cleared. Mattox had the front seat passenger step out and the male was cleared also. When the rear seat passenger stepped out and was patted down, Mattox felt something in his crotch area. When the deputy asked the male passenger what it was, the male told Mattox it was a string from his pants. The deputy advised the male subject that was not a string. The male then pulled out a small black vape from his crotch. Mattox asked the male passenger if that was a THC vape and the male advised it was. Sgt. Johnson arrived on scene to assist Mattox at that time. Mattox then began the search of the vehicle. There was what appeared to be marijuana shake on one of the seats in the vehicle. Behind the driver’s seat was what appeared to be a mostly finished can of beer, still cool to the touch. Mattox advised the rear seat passenger that he would be placed under arrest for the THC vape and placed in Sgt. Johnson’s vehicle. At first, the male driver denied that the open can of beer was his, but later admitted it did belong to him. Mattox advised the male driver that she would be checking him to make sure he was safe to drive. The deputy began her testing and evaluation on the male driver. While conducting the assessment, Mattox got a strong odor of alcohol coming from the male driver. The male was also swaying while standing in one spot, and when she asked again about him drinking, the male began to deny multiple times to drinking. When Mattox did the Portable Breath Test on scene, it indicated a positive result for alcohol.
At that time, the male driver was placed under arrest for driving under the influence. The front seat passenger was released at the scene and the driver and rear passenger were transported to the Jones County LEC.
DUI
Deptuy Mattox was patrolling the area of Hwy. 49 and Joycliff Rd. when she observed a vehicle pass by her with no rear lights. The deputy caught up to the vehicle, which now had its lights on, and conducted a traffic stop. When Mattox approached the vehicle, she made contact with a female driver that advised she was not aware her lights had been off. The female seemed to be in disbelief that her lights were not working as she just had a mechanic fix them. The deputy asked the female if she would like to see given one taillight was still not working. Once the female was out of the vehicle, Mattox detected the odor of alcohol coming from the female’s person. The deputy asked the female if she had anything to drink, and the female advised Mattox she did have one beer earlier and gave the deputy the approximate time she drank the beer. Mattox knew that since it had been around six hours since the time the female advised she had a drink, that she should not be able to detect the odor of alcohol if it had been that long. At that point, Mattox decided to conduct a Standardized Field Sobriety Test on the female driver to ensure she was safe to get home. Mattox noticed several issues the female had doing the test. The deputy then administered the Portable Breath Test on the female, and it came back inaccurate due to the way the female was breathing during the test. Mattox then placed the female driver under arrest for driving under the influence less safe. The deputy read the female the Georgia Implied Consent Notice for suspects age 21 or over and requested a blood draw. The female agreed to the blood work. The female was transported to the Jones County LEC and released to jail staff.
April 16
Window tint and marijuana
Lt. Hunnicutt was on patrol when he observed a vehicle with dark tinted windows pulling out of a parking lot.
Hunnicutt activated his blue lights and siren, however the vehicle continued.
Suddenly, the vehicle made a turn into a local business and began to drive behind the back of the business. Hunnicutt observed an object being thrown out of the passenger side window and land near the curb. The driver then made a hard left turn and continued. At that time, Hunnicutt thought the driver was going to flee in the vehicle, so he called for backup and began giving the driver verbal commands to stop as the driver’s side window was rolled down.
The driver then stopped the vehicle.
Hunnicutt ordered the driver to exit the vehicle and turn the car off. The lieutenant made contact with the male driver and placed him in handcuffs.
Officer Joiner arrived on scene.
Hunnicutt advised the driver that he was stopped due to the window tint on his vehicle. The driver was then placed in the rear of Officer Joiner’s patrol car. Hunnicutt found the object that had been thrown out and it was a clear bag of suspected marijuana. The male driver was transported to the Jones County LEC where he was charged with possession of marijuana less than one ounce and window tint violation and turned over to jail staff for processing.
