The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department Dec. 26, 2023 – Jan. 2, 2024.
Dec. 26
Another scam
Inv. Simmons responded to a call in the lobby of the Jones County Sheriff’s office regarding a case of fraud. Simmons met with the female complainant that advised she received a phone call from a male subject claiming he worked with the fraud department at a local bank and advised her she would not be able to access her account for a couple of days because her account had been hacked. The female told Simmons the call came from a 478-area code, so it was a local phone number, and they confirmed the phone number was actually to the bank at a Dublin, GA location. The female also told the investigator that she complied with the male subject and that she could see miscellaneous transactions that were made via her mobile app.
The female stated that while she was on the phone with the male subject, her husband overheard and grew suspicious of the phone call and took the phone from her. The complainant’s husband began asking the male subject on the phone questions and the conversation began to get heated and the two men started yelling at each other. The male subject who stated he was with the local bank then told the husband that he would “never be able to find him.” The female then realized it was truly a scam and she called the bank. The female was advised by the bank over $2,000.00 had been taken from her account. The case is still under investigation.
Dec. 27
Firearms and meth
Inv. Hall and Corp. Sullivan were in the area of Shurling Drive when Hall observed a vehicle with a GA tag traveling southbound with a busted windshield. Hall had Sullivan conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. Sullivan conducted the traffic stop and the vehicle pulled into a business and made a stop. Hall noticed two male occupants in the vehicle, and they seemed to be extremely nervous while Sullivan was speaking to them. Sgt. Carr had arrived on scene and Hall asked Carr to deploy his K9.
Sullivan had both occupants exit the vehicle at that time. Carr deployed K9 Rex and conducted a free air sniff of the vehicle. Rex alerted to the odor of narcotics.
Carr then asked the male occupants if there was anything in the vehicle. The male driver stated there was some marijuana in the vehicle. Hall advised the two male subjects that due to the K9 alerting to the vehicle, a search of their person would be done. Immediately, Hall noticed the male driver put his hand in his front pants pocket and seemed to grip something tightly in his right hand. Carr advised the male subject to let go of whatever it was. Carr then retrieved a Ziploc baggie containing a quantity of suspected methamphetamine.
A further search of the vehicle revealed two firearms and a quantity of marijuana located in the center console. A search of the male passenger was also done, and no firearms or narcotics were found, and he was released from the scene. The male driver was transported to the Jones County LEC and charged with two counts of possession of firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of methamphetamine and also cited for the windshield.
Jan. 2
Marijuana hidden near crotch area
Deputy Mattox was assisting Deputy Brown on a traffic stop at Hwy. 49. Mattox asked Brown if she could speak to the driver that was stopped because she knew her from a previous encounter.
While Mattox was speaking to the female driver, she detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The deputy asked the female if there was anything in the vehicle that she needed to know about, and the female advised there was nothing in there. The female was asked to step out of the vehicle at that time and patted down. Nothing was found on the female driver’s person; however, the deputy could still smell the odor of marijuana.
A search of the vehicle was done, and a pill bottle was located inside the female’s purse. The pill bottle had the first name and date of birth peeled off the bottle. The last fill date on the bottle showed June 2023. When Mattox looked inside the pill bottle, she noticed two different kinds of pills. The female advised the deputy they were all Adderall medication. Mattox asked the female who the prescribing doctor was, and it took her a few minutes to answer. Mattox went back to her patrol vehicle to research the pills. They are believed to be two different types of Adderall, however, one of the pills was not what the prescription was for.
Mattox went back to the female driver and placed her in custody.
Mattox was still smelling the odor of marijuana and advised the female that if she had something on her person, she should tell her now before crossing the guard lines at the jail. The female subject then told Mattox that she had “less than three 5’s” near her crotch area. Mattox retrieved the marijuana at that time and transported the female to the Jones County Jail. without incident.
