Inebriated minibike rider jailed on numerous charges
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
A 35-year-old Atmore man, apparently past the point of being legally drunk, was arrested May 29 by city police on numerous charges, including felony drug possession, after an officer “observed several minibikes being operated recklessly and without any lights” on Martin Luther King Drive around 8:15 p.m.
APD Sgt. Darrell McMann reported that a minibike operated by Brent Antwon Simpson became disabled and was being pushed out of the roadway by Simpson.
As Simpson was being questioned, the officer “noticed that Simpson’s speech was slurred and (that he) had a strong odor of alcohol.” Simpson reportedly began removing items from his pockets and attempting to “nonchalantly toss items a few feet away” as the lawman talked with him.
Simpson began pulling away when the officer tried to take him into custody but after a brief struggle he was cuffed and taken to jail.
The items he had earlier tossed away were recovered, including a small amount of a white rock substance that field-tested positive for crack cocaine, a THC vape pen and a small amount of synthetic marijuana (Spice).
The Atmore man was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC) on one count each of public intoxication (an ordinance violation), tampering with evidence and resisting arrest (both misdemeanors) and possession of a controlled substance, a Class C felony.
According to jail records, Simpson was released May 30 on bond.
Ariel Nicole Barker
A Louisiana woman was arrested May 30 by Atmore police on felony and misdemeanor drug charges after an officer pulled over her vehicle “with its hazard lights activated and driving slowly along North Main Street” shortly after 2 p.m.
As the officer talked with the driver, 32-year-old Ariel Nicole Barker of Plaquemine, La., he “detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.” Dispatchers also notified the officer that the vehicle had been reported stolen in Mobile.
Barker was detained and a search of her vehicle turned up a glass pipe with a white residue that field-tested positive for cocaine, as well as three grams of marijuana and several items used to ingest narcotics.
Meanwhile, APD investigators learned from Mobile investigators that the vehicle was actually traded by the owner to Barker in an exchange for sexual favors and narcotics.
Barker was booked into the ECDC on one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
She remained behind bars Monday, June 3.
Brandon Kane Manac
Only minimal details were provided, but the ECDC website shows that Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested an Atmore man May 27 on a felony weapons possession charge.
Forty-one-year-old Brandon Kane Manac was processed into the county facility on one count each of possession of a pistol by a violent felon (a felony), and second-degree possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
Jail records show that Manac was released May 28 on bond.
Latasha Nicole Greenwood
No details were provided, and the arresting agency wasn’t identified, but jail records show that an Atmore woman was processed into the facility May 24 on a felony drug possession charge.
ECDC records show that Latasha Nicole Greenwood, 40, was jailed on one count each of possession of an unspecified controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
She was released from the ECDC May 25 on bond.
Courtney Paige Boutwell
A Brewton woman was arrested May 28 on a felony drug possession charge after Atmore PD narcotics investigators executed a search warrant on a Beck Street residence.
The raid took place around 10:15 a.m. and was the result of several complaints about the goings-on at the residence.
Courtney Paige Boutwell, 25, was arrested and charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
McMann said additional arrests are forthcoming as the investigation continues, and jail records show that Boutwell remained in the facility Monday, June 3.
Corderela Dirden
City police arrested a local man, already the subject of several felony warrants, May 27 on felony drug and weapon possession violations after an officer on routine patrol saw him walking along Jack Springs Road.
When the officer called out for Corderela Dirden, 36, to come talk with him, Dirden reportedly took off running. Reports show he was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.
Reports show that Dirden, a convicted felon, was in possession of a handgun and a glass pipe with a crystal-like residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
He was arrested and charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a pistol, attempting to elude, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The ECDC inmate roster shows that Dirden was still in the facility Monday, June 3.