By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
The following felony arrests were reported by officers of the Atmore Police Department (APD) during the period April 25-May 4:
Nimisis Silar
Silar, 26, was arrested April 30 after APD narcotics agents and members of the department’s Special Response Team executed a search warrant at a residence in the 100 block of St. Stephens Court.
The warrant, which was served around 6:55 p.m., was obtained after a patrol officer received complaints about drug activity at the house, then subsequent surveillance by city police.
Police reports show the search led to the discovery of what police said was a “large quantity” of marijuana, along with numerous items used for packaging the pot, an unspecified number of firearms, and “other items of interest.”
He also drew another felony charge when police discovered that a child was “in close proximity” to the pot stash.
Silar was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC) on one count each of first-degree possession of marijuana (a Class D felony), chemical endangerment of a child (Class C felony), being a certain person forbidden to possess a firearm (Class C felony), and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Monday, May 5, check of jail records show the Atmore man has been released from the facility. APD Sgt. Darrell McMann said the APD investigation is ongoing.
James Slusser
The Atmore man was taken into custody April 25 after dispatchers relayed a report of a disturbance on Wilson Avenue.
Police arrived around 4:20 p.m. The person who filed the complaint provided dispatchers with a description of the person causing the disturbance, who had left. According to reports, one of the responding officers spotted the individual, later identified as Slusser.
As the officer talked with Slusser, he noted that the 38-year-old man was “extremely agitated” and placed him under detainment. An officer soon arrived who had been questioning the person who called in the complaint.
Slusser admitted to police he had been smoking Spice, which he said led to the disturbance. He was still in possession of a small amount at the time and was arrested on one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
ECDC records show he was no longer in jail Monday morning, May 5.
Tiffany Ivey
Ivey, 42, of Atmore, was taken into custody around 5:20 a.m. on April 29 after a Martin Luther King Drive traffic stop led to a felony drug possession charge.
The vehicle in which Ivey was a passenger was blue-lighted because it was not displaying a license plate.
As the reporting officer walked up to the vehicle to question the driver and passenger, he “detected the strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.” He conducted a probable cause search, which turned up a small amount of synthetic cannabis (Spice) in the passenger seat.
Ivey, who was charged with possession of a controlled substance, was booked into the county jail, where she remained Monday morning, May 5.
Cornelius Palmer
The 31-year-old Pensacola, Fla., a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by police because its registered owner has a suspended driver’s license, was arrested May 1 on felony drug and weapons charges.
Police reports show the vehicle in which Palmer was a passenger was pulled over around 6:45 p.m. on Harris Street. The officer was given consent to search the vehicle and discovered a small amount of marijuana on the passenger side, along with items used to ingest narcotics, and a firearm.
Palmer is charged with one count each of first-degree possession of marijuana (reportedly because of a prior second-degree pot possession arrest), being a certain person forbidden to possess a firearm, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Palmer was no longer listed on the ECDC’s inmate roster Monday morning, May 5.
Jack Smith
Smith, also of Pensacola, was arrested May 1 after his vehicle was stopped for an unspecified moving violation.
The police pullover took place around 10:35 a.m. on Alabama 21. According to police reports, the 42-year-old Smith “was acting strangely” as the officer talked with him. The officer requested a K9 unit, and the dog indicated the presence of some illicit substance.
A probable-cause search turned up a small amount of a white, powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, as well as a small amount of marijuana, and items that are used to ingest narcotics.
Smith is charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He remained in the county jail Monday morning, May 5.
Donal Edwards
Joni Spates
The 52-year-old Atmore man and 38-year-old Century, Fla., woman were both arrested May 3 after police responded to a report of a disturbance at a local motel.
According to police reports, officers arrived about 5:10 a.m. at Southland Motel, where Edwards was sitting in a car. As they talked with him, they noted that “he appeared to be under the influence of narcotics.”
Reports show Edwards gave the officers consent to search the vehicle, and a small amount of methamphetamine, marijuana, and items used to ingest narcotics were found.
He was booked into the county jail on one count each of possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
During the investigation into the incident, police also discovered that the Century woman was the subject of outstanding arrest warrants from Escambia County, Fla., authorities. She was charged locally as a fugitive from justice.
Edwards and Spates remained in the ECDC Monday morning, May 5, with Spates awaiting extradition to Florida.
Ian Chaves
The Frisco City man, 29, was arrested on a felony pot possession charge after his vehicle was blue-lighted for an unspecified moving violation on Jack Springs Road around 9:30 a.m. on May 3.
As the reporting officer talked with Chaves, he “noted a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle” and conducted a probable-cause search. Several grams of marijuana were found in the vehicle, and Chaves has a previous conviction for second-degree possession, so the charge was upgraded to first-degree possession.
He remained in the county jail Monday morning, May 5.
Nikki Presley
The 25-year-old Atmore woman was arrested May 4 on a felony drug possession charge after she entered the local Walmart after having been legally banned from the store.
Reports show police responded to the store around 11:45 a.m. They made contact with Presley and eventually discovered that she had several outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrants. An officer searched Presley’s bag prior to taking her into custody and found a small amount of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as a pipe with meth residue.
She was charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and third-degree criminal trespass.
She was processed into the county jail, where she remained Monday morning, May 5.