‘Bandit’ jailed after removes patient file, other items from ACH office
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
The following felony arrests were reported by officers of the Atmore Police Department (APD) during the period September 30 through October 12:
Christopher Dortch
Dortch, known throughout Atmore as “Bandit,” was arrested September 30 after APD dispatchers relayed a report that a theft had occurred at Atmore Community Hospital.
Officers arrived around 5:40 p.m. and contacted hospital staff members, who told them that a man, later identified as Christopher Dortch, 44, entered a restricted office and removed a patient’s file, along with unspecified other items.
Dortch was located, the missing file and other items were recovered, and the Atmore man was taken into custody.
He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC) on one count each of third-degree burglary, a Class C felony, and fourth-degree theft of property, a Class A misdemeanor that indicates the value of the stolen items was less than $500.
Jail records show he was released from jail Friday, October 4.
Sebastian Blake
Danielle Maulden
Alyssa Cooper
Bryan Cherry
Four Pensacola, Fla. residents were arrested October 12 on felony drug possession charges after an APD officer on routine patrol spotted a vehicle driving along Alabama 21 that failed to maintain its lane of travel.
A traffic stop was conducted around 12:05 a.m. Reports show that as the officer talked with the driver, 35-year-old Sebastian Blake, he “observed suspicious behavior and requested a K9 officer,” which alerted to the presence of narcotics.
A search of the vehicle led to discovery of more than 15 grams of marijuana, six-plus grams of cocaine, more than a gram of fentanyl, and “numerous items used to ingest narcotics.”
Blake is charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, first-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Blake’s passengers — Danielle Maulden, 43, Alyssa Cooper, 27, and Bryan Cherry, 49 — were also arrested.
Maulden is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia; Cooper is charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and Cherry is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
All four were booked into the ECDC, where each of them remained Monday, October 14.
Emmanuel Johnson
Johnson was arrested October 6 after his vehicle was blue-lighted as it traveled along Jack Springs Road because it did not have taillights and its tag was expired.
Police reports show the traffic stop took place around 6:20 a.m. When the officer approached the vehicle, he “detected a strong odor of marijuana” coming from it, prompting a probable cause search.
As he talked with the driver, later identified as Emmanuel Johnson, 34, of Atmore, the officer saw Johnson throw something from the vehicle. When Johnson was removed from the vehicle, the officer found a handgun in the area where the object was thrown. A check revealed the handgun had been reported stolen by another agency.
The officer also discovered a small amount of a crystal-like substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana in Johnson’s clothing.
As he was being placed under arrest, Johnson managed to run away from the officers after he was handcuffed. He was taken into custody a short time later. When police checked Johnson’s criminal history, they found that the Atmore man was designated as a person forbidden to possess a firearm.
Johnson was jailed on one count each of possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, third-degree escape, second-degree possession of marijuana and being a certain person forbidden to possess a firearm.
He was still listed on the ECDC inmate roster Monday October 14.
Tawaika Rolin
An Atmore woman was arrested October 5 at a local motel after an APD officer saw her and thought she looked suspicious.
According to police reports, the policeman was driving through the parking lot of Southland Hotel, located on East Nashville Avenue, when he saw “a suspicious female” standing next to a vehicle.
When the officer checked her identification, he discovered the woman — later identified as 45-year-old Tawaika Rolin — was the subject of an outstanding Escambia County Sheriff’s Office warrant for failure to appear in court on an unspecified felony charge.
Rolin was also in possession of about a gram of synthetic cannabis (Spice) and well as unspecified “items used to ingest narcotics.”
She was processed into the ECDC on a felony count of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and remained in jail Monday, October 14.
Alexandra Delev
A Louisiana woman was arrested here October 5 after she was seen shoplifting from the local Walmart store.
Police reports show the store’s loss prevention personnel reported around 5:35 p.m. that the woman, who was later identified as Alexandra Delev, 53, of Madisonville, La., was shoplifting in the store.
Delev was detained while her identification was checked. That check revealed she was the subject of felony warrants from Louisiana for probation violation and a drug charge.
She was arrested and booked into the county jail on one count each of being a fugitive from justice and fourth-degree theft of property.
She remained in the ECDC Monday, October 14, awaiting extradition to Louisiana.
Akeem Allen
City police arrested an Atmore man after an officer who responded to a “civil dispute” recognized him as the person who had given the officer a false name during a prior incident.
According to reports, an officer was sent to a Robinsonville Road residence around 4 p.m. after receiving notification of the dispute.
As police worked with the parties involved to sort out the situation, the officer recognized one of the individuals involved from a previous call for service during which the individual gave a false name to the same officer.
The officer signed an arrest warrant on 30-year-old Akeem Allen when he discovered that Allen had provided the false name because he was wanted by the county sheriff’s office on “several outstanding felony arrest warrants.”
Allen was booked into the ECDC, where he remained Monday, October 14.
Christion Watson
A 24-year-old Atmore man was arrested after an October 11 traffic stop, this one also for failing to maintain his lane of travel as he was driving along Alabama 21.
According to police reports, the traffic stop took place around 11:10 a.m. As the officer talked with the driver, later identified as Christion Watson, and Watson’s unidentified passenger, he discovered that the passenger was wanted by Atmore police and Summerdale police as the subject of outstanding misdemeanor warrants.
The passenger was detained, and a K-9 officer was brought to the scene and alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A search yielded several grams of synthetic cannabis (Spice), a small amount of fentanyl and unspecified items used to ingest narcotics.
Watson was arrested and booked into the county jail on two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He remained behind bars Monday, October 14. The passenger was taken to Atmore Municipal Jail.