By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Traffic stops and a reported argument turned into felony drug possession charges for a mix of individuals — from Atmore and at least two nearby cities, ranging in age from 27 to 65 — who were among those whose names appeared on recent Atmore Police Department, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Alabama State Troopers drug arrest reports.
No headlight
An Atmore man and woman were arrested April 14 for possession of illegal drugs after the vehicle in which they were traveling was pulled over by APD officers because one of its headlights was out.
The vehicle’s driver, 42-year-old Terri Stabler of Atmore reportedly granted consent to search, and police found an unspecified quantity of amphetamine pills.
Stabler and her passenger, Earl Dortch, 65, also of Atmore, were arrested and charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
They were processed into the Escambia County Detention Center, from which they were both freed on bond later that day.
Bookbag bust
A Florida man was arrested shortly after 7:45 a.m., April 13, when police were sent to investigate a reported argument in progress at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Alabama 21 (Nashville Avenue and Main Street).
An APD officer noticed while interviewing him that Robert Jones, 38, of Molino, was “acting strangely and was extremely concerned with the bookbag that was in his possession.” Jones reportedly granted consent to search the bag, and a glass tube was found that contained a charred residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
He was booked into the county jail on one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released from the facility on bond that same day.
More meth
A Loxley woman was charged with felony drug possession after her vehicle was stopped by APD around 3:30 p.m., April 12, for an unspecified violation.
The driver — Kala Posey, 27, of Loxley — reportedly gave officers consent to search the vehicle, and they discovered a plastic baggy containing an unspecified quantity of a crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
Posey was booked into the county jail on one count of possession of a controlled substance. She was released on bond the next day.
County charges
Two other Atmore residents — neither a stranger to the county jail — were arrested recently, each on drug possession charges. No details of either arrest were readily available, but the county jail’s website shows the preliminary information.
Matthew Edward Thomas, 36, was arrested April 11 by a state trooper on one count each of possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
Thomas was released from the county jail April 17. The arrest marked the seventh time he has been booked into the facility since 2009, the third time he has been arrested on drug possession charges since 2017.
For 55-year-old Terry Dewayne Edwards, his April 13 arrest by sheriff’s deputies — on one count each of possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia — marked the sixth time he has been placed behind county bars, on a string of charges from terroristic threats to elder abuse, since 2010.
He was released from jail April 14 when bail was posted on his behalf.