By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Atmore man was arrested May 18 on a drug trafficking charge after a traffic stop by city police led to the discovery of more than three ounces of methamphetamine in his vehicle.
APD Sgt. Darrell McMann reported that the incident began around 11:05 p.m. when a vehicle without taillights was pulled over on 12th Avenue.
The driver, 33-year-old Darren Junior Knighten reportedly gave his consent to a search of his vehicle, and officers discovered more than 50 grams of a crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, along with several grams of marijuana and numerous clear, plastic baggies.
Knighten was charged with one count each of drug trafficking, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also issued citations for driving while license is revoked or suspended and having improper lights, jail records show.
He remained in the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC) Monday, May 27.
Ricky Ray Maddox
Another APD traffic stop, this one based on an improper tag, resulted in the arrest of a passenger on a felony drug possession charge.
APD reports show the traffic stop occurred May 20, around 8:30 p.m., on East Sunset Drive. An officer pulled the vehicle over due to “a license plate violation,” according to reports.
While speaking with the driver and the other occupants of the vehicle, the officer noticed that one of the passengers, later identified as Ricky Ray Matthew Maddox, 32, of Atmore, “was acting strangely,” prompting a request for consent to search the vehicle.
A glass pipe was found that contained a crystal-like residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, and Maddox was arrested on one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
ECDC records show Maddox was released on bond May 21.
Jaylon Jerrell North
A May 19 traffic stop by city police, this one for driving on the wrong side of the road, resulted in the arrest of a 21-year-old Atmore man for possession of a stolen gun.
The incident took place around 1:40 a.m. on Wilson Avenue when an officer spotted a vehicle in which the driver was “operating the vehicle in the oncoming lane of traffic.”
As the policeman approached the stopped vehicle, he noted a “strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.” As lawmen conducted a probable cause search, “it became apparent that (Jaylon Jerrell) North was under the influence and failed standardized field sobriety tests.”
The search yielded a handgun that had been reported stolen in Atmore, and North was placed under arrest. He was booked into the ECDC, from which he was released May 23 on bond, on one count of second-degree receiving stolen property (a Class C felony) and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
Johnathan Lee Brown
No details were provided, but the ECDC website shows that county sheriff’s deputies arrested an Atmore man May 22 on felony charges related to his entry without invitation into a house or building.
According to the jail log, 36-year-old Johnathan Lee Brown was processed into the facility on one count each of first-degree criminal mischief, third-degree burglary and fourth-degree theft of property. The first two charges are felonies; the third is a misdemeanor.
Brown remained in the county jail Monday, May 27.
Yeldon Devante Rostchild
Sheriff’s deputies arrested an Atmore man May 23 on charges related to a shooting incident that took place at an unspecified site in the county.
No details were available, but jail records show Yeldon Devante Rostchild, 30, is charged with one count each of discharging a firearm into a building or train, being a certain person forbidden to possess a firearm, and reckless endangerment.
Rostchild remained in the ECDC Monday, May 27.