On 05/01/2014, at 16:50 hrs., Officer Louis Warren was on patrol on Dallas street when he was flagged down by several people who observed a very small silver 4-door vehicle with one person driving which was traveling at a high rate of speed on Dallas street and turned north on 4th street and did not stop at stop sign. The officer recognizing the vehicle description went to go search for the suspect. The officer found the vehicle matching the description in the 200 blk of 13th street.
The vehicle was identified as 2012 KIA Rio, silver in color.
The Seadrift officer then notified Calhoun County Dispatch of the vehicle. That vehicle is known to this officer to be driven by a local man who drives around town at high rates of speed and has been previously arrested for driving at high rates of speed. As the officer observed the vehicle leave a house in a residential area, the suspect’s radio was blaring from the vehicle, which is a violation of city ordnance “ loud music”.
The Seadrift Police Unit then started to follow and observe the vehicle traveling down South 13th Street and then turned left on to Bay Ave. at 12th. The officer followed the vehicle, watching as it parked with its music turned up loud inside the City Park parking at the boat ramp.
As the Seadrift Unit pulled into the park, the suspect vehicle pulled up to the officer in a aggravated manner. The officer stepped out of his unit and asked the driver for his driver’s license, Suspect stated he did not have a license on him.
The officer asked the suspect why he had his music up so loud, and he responded that he was just listening to it. At that time the officer noticed the suspect to be very agitated and his pupils were very constricted and suspect could not stand still. The suspect also had fresh track marks on his arm; one of them was still bleeding. From the officers training and experience, he knew that the marks were made from the use of illegal narcotics.
The officer asked the suspect if he had driven by Dallas Street in the last few minutes, in which the suspect said that he did and even stated that there were “four people out there”. At that point Chief Leonard Bermea and PCT 4 Constable Kevin Koliba arrived on scene, The suspect was placed under arrest for no drivers license. Officers observed and placed as evidence from the vehicle a baggie of brown powder substance that field tested to be opiates “also known as Heroin”.
The vehicle driven by suspect was impounded and towed, and suspect was transported to the Calhoun County Jail.
Seadrift Police Chief Leonard Bermea
