By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Two Atmore men were charged on successive days with felony drug possession after each committed a traffic violation and was pulled over by city police.
The first arrest happened around 9:20 p.m., January 20, when a patrol officer pulled over a vehicle that was being driven without headlights along U.S. 31.
According to police reports, the driver — 41-year-old Chad Godwin — first granted, then denied consent to search the vehicle, so the investigating officer requested an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K9 officer be brought to the scene.
The canine deputy arrived and as expected, alerted on the vehicle. A small bag containing approximately 1 gram of a crystal-like substance and a glass pipe with residue in it were discovered. The substance in the bag and the residue in the pipe both tested positive for methamphetamine.
Godwin was charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was processed into the Escambia County Detention Center, where he remained Monday afternoon, January 23.
S-T-O-P
The second arrest also occurred on U.S. 31, this time after a patrol officer saw a vehicle run through a stop sign as the driver, 34-year-old Robert Rigby, turned onto the highway.
Reports show that when the officer approached Rigby, he “noticed signs that Rigby could be possibly impaired.”
According to reports, the Atmore man gave the officer consent to search his vehicle, where a digital scale and a glass pipe were found. Each contained a “crystal-like residue that field tested positive for methamphetamine.”
Rigby was also charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center, where he also remained Monday afternoon.