Local man jailed for stolen property, forgery, drug possession
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Atmore man, 53-year-old John Kenneth Hovance, was arrested February 8 by city police on numerous felony charges, According to Atmore Police Department reports, APD patrol officers were advised around 6:25 p.m. to be on the lookout for a stolen vehicle that had reportedly been seen in the Freemanville Drive area.
Officers located the vehicle and stopped it. The driver and only occupant, John Kenneth Hovance III provided police with an out-of-state ID card, which turned out to be a fake.
The temporary tag attached to the vehicle belonged on a different vehicle, and a check of the vehicle’s VIN confirmed it was the vehicle that was reported stolen from another jurisdiction.
Hovance’s luck continued to lean toward the bad side when offices also discovered he was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant obtained by Escambia County, Fla. authorities.
Things got even worse when police searched him and the vehicle and found a clear plastic baggie containing three grams of a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine in his clothing and 2.5 grams of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, along with torch lighters and two glass pipes that contained methamphetamine residue, inside the vehicle.
Hovance was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC) on one count each of first-degree forgery and first-degree receiving stolen property, both Class B felonies; obstruction of justice by use of a false ID, a Class C felony, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance, each a Class D felony. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
He remained in the ECDC Monday afternoon, February 12.
Other felony arrests of local residents during the period February 2-9, include the following:
TJ Matthew Jarrell
Escambia County sheriff’s deputies arrested an Atmore man February 7 on numerous charges, including felony domestic violence.
No details were furnished on the arrest, but the ECDC website shows that TJ Matthew Jarrell, 33, is charged with one count each of third-degree domestic assault, interfering with a domestic violence emergency call, third-degree criminal mischief and probation violation.
Third-degree domestic assault is generally a misdemeanor, but the charge is enhanced to a Class C felony if the accused has two prior convictions for that same charge. The other charges against Jarrell are misdemeanors.
He remained behind bars Monday afternoon, February 12.
Lionel Todd Blackburn
Sheriff’s deputies arrested 48-year-old Lionel Todd Blackburn of Atmore on February 9.
No details were available, but the ECDC website shows he was booked into the facility on one count each of first-degree theft of property and resisting arrest
First-degree theft, a Class B felony, occurs when the stolen property is valued at more than $2,500. Resisting arrest is a Class B misdemeanor.
Blackburn was still in the county jail Monday afternoon, February 12.
Blaine Montgomery
A 32-year-old Atmore man was arrested February 9 by city police, after he was caught removing items from a local business he had broken into.
APD Sgt. Darrell McMann reported that officers were sent to Agape Outreach Ministry, a human services advocate on East Nashville Avenue, around 3 p.m. after the property owner found a man, later identified as Blaine Montgomery, 32, who was helping himself to various items inside the building.
Officers contacted the property owner as they detained Montgomery, who was charged with third-degree burglary. He will also be charged with theft once the monetary value of the stolen items is assessed, McMann said.
Montgomery was transported to the ECDC, where he was still in the process of being booked at 4:30 p.m. Friday.