Expired driver’s license leads to discovery of stolen gun, Ecstasy, pot
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
The following felony arrests were reported by Atmore Police Department (APD) officers during the period August 15-18:
Q’watrell Ford
An Atmore man was arrested August 17 on felony weapons and drug charges after his vehicle was pulled over for failure to yield to another vehicle.
The traffic stop was conducted at approximately 2:15 a.m. The site of the pullover was not specified.
The officer determined that the license of the vehicle’s driver, 31-year-old Q’watrell Ford, had been revoked and called for a wrecker to tow the vehicle.
According to reports, the officer also requested Ford’s keys several times. When he refused to hand them over, he was placed under arrest for obstructing government operations.
A subsequent search of Ford’s vehicle turned up a stolen handgun, several loose Ecstasy pills, and six grams of marijuana.
Ford was also charged with one count each of second-degree receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and first-degree possession of marijuana (due to a prior conviction for second-degree possession).
He was processed into the Escambia County Detention Center (ECDC), where he remained Monday morning, August 19.
Jose Estrada
A Texas man was taken into custody August 15 on a felony drug possession charge after an APD officer investigated a vehicle found parked on the side of Alabama 21.
According to police reports, the officer was on routine patrol, around 4:25 a.m. when he spotted the vehicle, its engine still running.
The driver, later identified as 43-year-old Jose Estrada of Beaumont, Tex., had passed out. After several attempts, the officer was able to wake Estrada. As the Texan was getting out of his vehicle, the policeman “noticed a glass pipe in Estrada’s lap.”
The pipe contained a crystal-like residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, and a small amount of meth was found inside the vehicle.
Estrada remained in the ECDC Monday morning, August 19, charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Victoria Burkett
A Walnut hill, Fla. woman was arrested August 18 after her vehicle was pulled over for having only one headlight.
The traffic stop was conducted around 1:15 a.m., on North Main Street.
As the officer talked with the driver, Victoria Burkett, 36, he “developed cause to search the vehicle.” That search yielded a syringe containing methamphetamine, as well as “other items commonly used to ingest narcotics.”
Burkett, who is charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, remained in the ECDC Monday morning, August 19.