By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
The following felony arrests were reported by officers of the Atmore Police Department (APD) during the period January 3-12, 2025:
Bryson Bowen
Bowen, 24, was arrested on January 12 after police were sent to Greenlawn Motel on East Nashville Avenue around 7 p.m. in response to a reported disturbance.
Officers talked with a female in one of the motel rooms and were told that she and her boyfriend (Bowen) had gotten into an argument, and she had locked him out of the room when he went outside.
Reports are that Bowen began screaming and banging on the door of the motel room but left the area before police arrived. Officers were again sent to the lodging establishment around 8:35 p.m. after receiving a report that Bowen had returned.
The Atmore man reportedly fled on foot into the woods when he saw the officers and realized they had also spotted him. A brief foot chase ensued, but Bowen was taken into custody.
A pre-arrest search of his person led to the discovery of a small amount of methamphetamine and a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue, and charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia were added to the charges of attempting to elude a police officer and third-degree domestic violence-harassment.
He remained behind bars Monday afternoon, January 13.
Mitchell Hall
The 43-year-old Atmore man was arrested January 5 after a woman notified city police that her former husband, against whom she also has a protective order, had come to her residence and stolen her vehicle.
Reports show that officers located Hall a short time later and took him into custody. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention center (ECDC) on one count each of first-degree theft of property and violating a domestic violence protection order.
Under Alabama law, first-degree theft is a Class B felony that includes stealing a motor vehicle, regardless of its value. Violating a protective order is a Class A misdemeanor.
Hall was still listed on the ECDC inmate roster Monday afternoon, January 13.
Reigh Holder
The Uriah woman was arrested January 3 when a trio of controlled substances were found in her vehicle, which was pulled over because it was being driven “erratically.”
The traffic stop happened on Sunset Drive, around 5:15 p.m. As the officer talked with the driver and his passenger — later identified as the 44-year-old Holder, he “requested a K9 unit after observing suspicious behavior.”
The K9 indicated that illicit substances might be in the vehicle, and a probable cause search turned up undisclosed amounts of Clonazepam, Valium, methamphetamine and items used to package and ingest narcotics. (Clonazepam is used to treat seizures and panic disorder. It works by helping calm down a person’s nervous system.)
Holder was arrested and booked into the county jail on three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on a DUI charge and was booked into Atmore Municipal Jail.
ECDC records showed on January 10 that Holder was no longer in the facility.
Robert Foreman
The 63-year-old Atmore man was arrested January 5 after police investigated a report of a “suspicious vehicle” in the Ashley Street-Carver Street area.
While responding officers questioned Foreman, the vehicle’s only occupant, they learned he was the subject of “multiple misdemeanors warrants with Atmore Police Department.”
While searching him prior to taking him to jail, officers discovered small amounts of synthetic cannabis (Spice), crack cocaine, and marijuana on his person.
Foreman was booked into the ECDC on two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of first-degree possession of marijuana. Jail records show he was released January 9.
Deontra French
French was arrested January 11 after he was recognized as a convicted killer who was a fugitive from an Escambia County, Fla. felony probation violation warrant.
The traffic stop took place around 7:30 a.m. on Short Street. Police confirmed that French, the vehicle’s only passenger, was still wanted by Florida authorities, then placed him under arrest.
French, who was reportedly on probation for a Sunshine State murder conviction, remained in the ECDC Monday afternoon, January 13, awaiting extradition to Florida.