Hosford man charged
with fleeing in stolen truck
and driving with no license
BRISTOL – A Hosford man is charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and his third offense of driving with a suspended license after he was seen driving on SR 20 by a Liberty County deputy who knew that James William Stanley did not have a valid driver’s license.
According to the report from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Stanley, 49, was westbound on SR 20 as he headed for the Trammell Bridge when the deputy noticed him in the unregistered red Chevrolet S10.
Stanley refused to stop when the deputy pulled up with his lights and siren on. The deputy continued traveling behind Stanley as he drove onto the bridge, heading for Blountstown while maintaining speeds of less than 50 mph. Calhoun County deputies were alerted and called out to assist.
After Stanley drove off the bridge, he made a right turn onto Mason Road, where the Liberty County deputy overtook him and boxed him in.
He was arrested and taken to the Calhoun County Jail.
The owner of the vehicle was alerted by a neighbor that his truck was missing. He arrived at the sheriff’s office that morning to report the theft.
Woman arrested on drug
charges after traffic stop
BRISTOL – A Tuscaloosa, AL woman traveling through Bristol with two men is facing drug charges after they stopped to fuel up last month.
A Liberty County deputy was on stationary patrol with his narcotics detection dog on July 30 when he saw a car pull in to the Marathon convenience store in Bristol. A man got out of the driver’s seat with an open container of beer, took a sip and then tossed the can in the trash before pumping gas.
As the car pulled out, the deputy noticed the front passenger was not wearing his safety belt and conducted a traffic stop.
While the driver was getting his information out, the deputy checked for possible citations on the front seat passenger. He then had his drug dog do a free air sniff around the vehicle.
The three remained inside the car with the windows rolled up and the air conditioner running.
The dog gave a positive alert to the presence of illegal drugs on the passenger side of the car, which resulted in a search of the rear passenger’s compartment area. A second deputy arrived on scene.
When the back seat passenger turned over the wallet she was holding, the deputy found some suspected marijuana and a two pills. A prescription for a drug used to treat opioid use was also discovered. The woman, identified as Ashley Scruggs, 38, was moved to the back of the patrol car while deputies continued their search.
A black backpack-style purse found in the rear floorboard was found to hold a glass pipe with a crystal-like substance in the stem and the bowl. Four small containers that held the same substance were also found.
A search of two duffle bags belonging to Scruggs turned up a toothbrush holder that concealed a loaded hypodermic syringe containing a liquid that field-tested positive for crystal methamphetamine. A set of digital scales – which also had a crystal-like substance on it – were found in the other duffle bag.
Before being taken into the county jail, Scruggs admitted to having another container with her that held the same substance.
Deputies found that Scruggs had an active warrant out of Gulf County for failure to appear.
She was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Man found passed out
behind the wheel with
motor running at store
BRISTOL – An unresponsive man found in his vehicle at a convenience store last week was charged with driving under the influence.
A Liberty County deputy responded to a report of man passed out behind the steering wheel of his vehicle, which was reported to been parked with the motor running for an hour at the Express Lane at 2:40 p.m. on Aug. 7.
There was a can of beer in the cupholder and a case of beer in the front seat.
The deputy’s report noted the odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from the driver. When the driver – identified as Marco Mendez of Guatemala – was awakened, the deputy noted that his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred.
When asked how much he had to drink, the driver replied “two or three.”
Mendez, who was unable to stand without leaning against the vehicle, refused to take field sobriety exercises. He was taken into custody and charged with driving under the influence.
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