State troopers from the Georgia State Patrol observed mixed results during the Memorial Day holiday weekend: they netted several arrests for DUI and drug possession, possibly preventing alcohol- or drug-related accidents.
On the down-side, however, one of seven traffic-related deaths in Georgia during the four-day period happened in Decatur County.
The total of seven traffic-related deaths was an all-time low for the Memorial Day weekend, according to the Georgia State Patrol. A single-vehicle accident on Monday night claimed the life of 32-year-old Amanda Regan of Colquitt, who worked as a paraprofessional at Bainbridge High School. Five of the seven deaths occurred in North Georgia, while one occurred in the area served by the GSP's Waycross post.
State troopers from the GSP's Donalsonville post reported making eight arrests for driving under the influence in the four-county area served by the post-five of them were made as a result of traffic stops in Decatur County. State troopers arrested four people on drug-related charges-three of those were made in Decatur County.
On Sunday morning, State Trooper Jon Jackson stopped a car driven by 25-year-old Michael Lamar Anderson-who had a Cairo address but recently lived in California-near the intersection of Shotwell Street and College Road.
State Trooper Kyle Duke said he arrived to assist Jackson and smelled what he believed to be the odor of fresh marijuana coming from inside Anderson's car. Anderson refused to take a field sobriety test commonly administered to determine whether people are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Upon searching the vehicle, the state troopers found a burnt marijuana joint in the car and a bag containing approximately an ounce of marijuana in the car's trunk. The trunk also contained scales and plastic baggies commonly used to prepare marijuana for resale, Duke said.
Anderson was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a violation of Georgia's window tint law, not obtaining a Georgia driver's license after becoming a resident and weaving.
Man charged with DUI after caught speeding
On Sunday night, Duke had stopped his patrol car on Georgia 302 at its intersection with Faceville-Attapulgus Road and was checking drivers' speed with radar when he observed a car traveling at 73 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone.
Duke said he began to make a traffic stop when the driver pulled off the roadway without first applying his brakes. After the car stopped, Duke said he observed the driver, later identified as Richard Fields, 28, of Quincy, Fla., switch places with the car's passenger.
Duke said he smelled an odor of alcohol coming from Fields' person; Fields initially denied driving but later admitted to doing so after the state trooper confronted him.
Fields was charged with DUI, having an open container of gin inside a moving vehicle, suspended license and speeding. The car's passenger, Fields' brother, also had been drinking alcohol but was not charged with DUI because he did not actually drive the car, Duke said.
Duke arrested 42-year-old Maurice Wood of Quincy, Fla., for DUI, open container and weaving on Saturday night after a concerned motorist called 911 to report a car matching the description of Wood's was traveling recklessly on Georgia 97 South. A test indicated Wood had a blood-alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit for drivers, Duke said.
Bainbridge Public Safety and the Climax Police Department also reported making one DUI arrest each.
