Newspaper Page Text
Commerce News
MAY21,2008- PAGE7
Commerce Police Department Arrests
Commerce Police Department Incidents
Drags Depicted On Shirt,
Drags Found In The Vehicle
Theft Of Wallet, Attack By Dog
Make For A Bad Week For Local Man
In retrospect, it probably wasn’t
a good idea to wear a shirt deco
rated with a drawing of marijuana
leaves. It could lead the police to
suspect the presence of drugs.
A Conley man’s attire caught
the attention of a Commerce
Police Department officer who
pulled him over for windshield
and brake light violations at the
intersection of Jefferson Road
and North Broad Street at 1:40
a.m.
When the officer discovered
that Jose Salmeron, 19, of 4240
Cottage Lane, Conley, had no
license, he placed him under
arrest.
Then, sensing that Salmeron
might be prone to enjoying a little
weed, the officer inquired as to
whether any drugs were in the
vehicle. According to the arrest
report, Salmeron admitted that a
single joint could be found in the
map holder in the door.
The officer recovered that ciga
rette, and a search of the rest of
the vehicle turned up a plastic
bag containing suspected crack
cocaine, another containing pow
dered cocaine, and a second par
tially smoked marijuana cigarette
that was in the ash tray.
Both Salmeron and his passen
ger, Jose Huerta, 20, 5942 Mariah
Lane, Forest Park, said they knew
nothing at all about the two bags
of drugs. Police charged both with
possession of cocaine and misde
meanor possession of marijuana.
Salmeron, who according to the
report was unable to stay still,
kept bobbing his head and getting
emotional and who admitted to
using cocaine and marijuana, was
also charged with driving under
the influence (DUI) of drugs, driv
ing without a license, and wind
shield and brake light violations.
A juvenile in the vehicle was not
charged.
Chase Leads To
Multiple Charges
A Homer man who led police
on a chase all the way from Ingles
to the J & J Center and back on
U.S. 441 and Hwy. 334 faces 14
charges.
According to the arrest report,
an officer observed John Matthew
Criswell, 37, of 119 Crane Mobile
Home Drive, Homer, exit the
Kangaroo convenience store
on South Broad Street, turn the
wrong way on South Broad and
head toward Ingles.
At the intersection, the officer
said the vehicle skidded to a stop
for the red light in the middle of
the intersection, at which time
the officer attempted to stop the
vehicle. According to the report,
Criswell sped up, leading the
officer on a chase down U.S.
441 at speeds that reached 95
miles per hour. The officer said it
appeared that Criswell was going
to turn into the J & J Center, but
instead did a U-turn, then circled
the police officer’s car four times
before heading north on U.S. 441.
The officer noted in his written
report that he could see the driver
— the only occupant — was actu
ally on the passenger side of the
vehicle at the time.
The chase went north to Hwy.
334 back toward Commerce,
where near Ingles another officer
deployed the “stop sticks’’ that
punctured Criswell’s tires, after
which the suspect drove into a
field, jumped out of his vehicle
and ran — only to be apprehend
ed.
Officers charged Criswell with
DUI, improper stopping in the
roadway, failure to maintain a lane,
going the wrong way on a one
way street, a seat belt violation,
obstruction, driving with a sus
pended license, reckless driving,
fleeing and attempting to elude,
speeding, driving too fast for con
ditions, operating an unregistered
motor vehicle, driving without a
license and driving in violation of
license restrictions.
Other Arrests
Others arrested or cited by
city police during the past week
include:
• Debra Leigh Gannon, 26, 156
Spring Street, Commerce, driving
with a suspended license.
•Michelle Coward Lackey, 30,
2221 College Avenue, Commerce,
disorderly conduct after police
arrested her husband on out
standing warrants.
•Chris Lamar Crumpton, 36,
563 Jim David Road, Nicholson,
driving without a license and a
windshield violation.
•Malcomb Joe Poole, 42, 83
Pine Avenue, Commerce, driving
without a license and on a Jackson
County warrant for battery and
criminal damage to property.
•Rex Rodney Baker, 43, 295
Webbs Creek Road, Commerce,
on probation violation war
rants from both Commerce and
Jackson County.
•Paul Eugene Gholston, 45,
65 Duncan Circle, Commerce,
simple battery after he allegedly
struck his niece, in whose home
he lived. The victim told police
she was on the phone when he
came in yelling and cursing and
hit her, knocking an earring out
and knocking her glasses off. The
victim went outside, she said, and
Gholston followed her. When the
woman told him she wanted him
out of her house, she said he
told her he would “beat her -ss,”
and began hitting her again. The
report said Gholston denied hit
ting the woman.
•George Whalen Teague, 45,
37 Hickory Street, Commerce,
speeding and driving with a sus
pended license.
A 21-year-old Commerce man
had a bad couple of days.
First, he reported that his wal
let, which he left on the passen
ger side seat while he went into
a South Elm Street convenience
store to get cigarettes, was miss
ing when he came back.
It contained $220 in cash, a
credit card and a bank card.
The next day, the same man
was walking on Rice Street
when he found a “pit bull or
boxer-type dog’’ in his way,
demonstrating “menacing’’
behavior.
The man told police he lifted
his arm and said, “Chew,’’ where
upon the dog complied and bit
him in the hand. The white male
said he kicked the dog in an
attempt to get away from it, and
the dog bit him again, in the
groin.
The man went into the screened
porch of a nearby house, at
which time the dog departed.
The victim told police that he
did not know the dog, that it
had no collar and that it was so
skinny he could see its ribs.
Other Incidents
City police reported the fol
lowing incidents during the past
week:
• a custody dispute at a
Cedar Drive location in which
a 27-year-old black female said
a 25-year-old black male struck
her in the face and took her cell
phone after they argued about
which of them should take their
child. The man denied hitting
her.
•harassing phone calls at a
Highlands Estates address in
with a 54-year-old black female
reported that her daughter has
been calling and cursing her
and sending obscene text and
voice mail messages. The victim
said the woman is upset because
the victim was granted custody
of her daughter’s children.
•the recovery on South Elm
Street of two driver’s licenses,
a vehicle registration, a pair
of glasses, a cell phone and a
Navy Credit Union bank card.
The report did not indicate who
turned the items over to the
police.
• criminal damage to property
at the railroad crossing at North
Broad Street and North Elm in
which a truck knocked the arms
off the grade crossing gate and
left. He was pulled over on the
Homer Road.
• a domestic incident on
Cross Street in which the moth
er of an 18-year-old black female
expressed concern to police
that the girl’s ex-boyfriend was
going to kill the girl.
•a drug overdose in which
a white female who had been
“messed up all day’’ was appar
ently overdosed on Benadryl.
• criminal trespass at Parham’s
Restaurant, North Elm Street, in
which someone threw two rocks
through the glass front door.
The back door was found open,
but there was nothing reported
missing.
•entering an auto at a Rice
Street address. A 17-year-old
black male said he’d been
visiting friends and when he
went to his truck he found two
speakers missing from behind
the seat.
• a report of a missing person,
a 23-year-old white male, from a
Barber Street address. The sub
ject’s grandmother said he’d last
been seen with two males she
did not know.
• a missing juvenile at a South
Broad Street address. A 28-year-
old white female said the 14-year-
old girl had gone to Athens with
a man, and she wanted the girl
charged as an “unruly juvenile.’’
The girl came back later, and the
police report indicated that the
man will be charged with inter
ference with child custody and
the girl with being an unruly
juvenile.
•entering an auto at an Ila
Road address in which a 22-year-
old white female said someone
stole her pocketbook and purse
from her car. She lost $5 in
cash, a bank card and all of her
identification.
•simple battery at a Bennett
Street address in which two
juvenile black males allegedly
attacked another juvenile black
male. There were reports that a
firearm was involved, but police
could not locate a gun.
Warrants Issued
The police indicated that
warrants have been taken for
the arrest of Charles Timothy
Rucker, 31, of 330 Apple Valley
Road, Commerce, for driv
ing with a suspended license,
obstruction and a tag light vio
lation. An officer attempted
to pull the vehicle over after
watching it leave the area of
the Kangaroo convenience
store in a suspicious manner.
When the officer attempted to
pull the vehicle over, the man
got out and ran. He turned up
later at Cobblestone Court and
Piedmont Road, but each time
eluded police.
Ingles Management Foils 'Insider' Shoplifting
Service Loan & Tax
Here to meet all your loan and tax needs.
An Ingles employee’s attempt
to help a friend avoid the “every
day low prices’’ at the grocery
store backfired, according to the
Commerce Police Department.
The incident report said police
were summoned to the new store
on South Elm Street and were
asked to wait outside until the
shoplifting suspects left the store.
Moments later, they were asked
to come in, as the suspects were
in the self-check-out line taking
items out of bags and putting
them back in the grocery cart.
At that time, police arrested
Nacole Buffington Sanders, 24, of
172 Crestwood Circle, Commerce,
and Scott Matthew McAlister,
24, of 140 Bristol Woods Drive,
Athens.
The report said Sanders claimed
that an employee of Ingles, Heather
Denise Hinton, 31, of 110 Marion
Cape Road, Maysville, had told
her to go to the self-check-out line,
scan some of the merchandise
and just put the rest into a bag
with the scanned items.
The report said that Hinton, who
was a former coworker of Sanders
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