A deputy from the Newton County Sheriff’s Department arrested a local man after he reportedly copped an attitude and refused to cooperate when officers pulled him over for driving on the wrong side of the road.

The deputy was driving on Brown Bridge Road at roughly 4:20 p.m. April 4 when he noticed a white truck driving in his lane of traffic at a high rate of speed as he turned onto Kirkland Road. The passenger tires on the truck were reportedly over the fog line which gave the deputy reason to activate his emergency equipment and attempt to stop the driver.

The driver allegedly stopped his vehicle and pulled into a parking space at Neely’s Restaurant. The driver reportedly exited his vehicle and told the deputy “Hey, I’ll be right back with you, I have to drop off the money for the restaurant.” The deputy waited and ran the plates on the vehicle while they did so.

After a few moments, the man, identified as 32-year-old Clinton Fredrick Neely, came back outside of the restaurant and allegedly said “OK, so why did you stop me?” When the deputy informed Neely the reason he had been stopped was because he was driving on the wrong side of the road on Kirkland and Brown Bridge roads Neely reportedly told him “You might as well sit here and write me a ticket every day because I do it all day long. I go back and forth from the golf course to here, and I do it all the time, I own all this property.”

Neely was asked for his license which he provided. The deputy went to his patrol car and wrote out a citation for Neely but, according to reports, Neely was not having anything to do with the citation. He allegedly told the deputy he wasn’t signing the ticket, using colorful language to do so.

The deputy explained to Neely that the citation was not an admission of guilt, but Neely still refused to sign and allegedly continued to be belligerent. He was reportedly warned to calm down or he would be arrested. Neely, according to reports, was unwilling to calm down and watch his language and was subsequently arrested.

He reportedly continued to curse at the deputy until another deputy arrived to transport him to the Newton County Detention Center where he was charged with driving on the wrong side of the road without further incident.

Drinking and probation - a bad combination
An officer from the Covington Police Department responded to East Georgia Probation Sunday morning after a man checking in for his probation was allegedly intoxicated.

According to reports, when the officer arrived he met with a probation officer who reportedly told him 29-year-old Brandon Davis was inside the office yelling and refusing to cooperate by taking a breath test. When the officer went inside to speak with Davis he reportedly noticed an almost overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from Davis. In fact, reports indicate the entire room reeked of alcohol and Davis’ eyes were “glazed over and droopy.”

When the officer spoke with Davis he reportedly informed the officer he would not be taking a breath test because he was on probation for disorderly conduct and not on charges stemming from alcohol. Davis did not deny drinking alcohol, according to reports, in fact Davis allegedly told the officer that he had gotten drunk the previous evening but that it “didn’t matter because wasn’t part of his probation.”

The officer attempted to explain to Davis that not getting drunk was a common condition of probation but Davis was allegedly adamant that the judge specially told him that he could get drunk. The probation officer was sent by the officer to get a copy of the probation order in an effort to clarify things for all parties involved.

According to reports, Davis was loud and animated during the conversations with the officer and said he was “a grown man” and that the probation officer “couldn’t speak to him like a child or make him do anything.” Davis was repeatedly asked to sit down and stay calm, and he would comply for a few moments, but he would quickly become animated and jump back up, according to reports.

At one point the officer placed his hand on Davis’ shoulder when Davis jumped up and pushed Davis back into the chair, telling him not to get up again. Davis reportedly did not appreciate this and allegedly told the officer to “get my hands off of him and that he was a grown man and not a boy.”

The probation officer returned with Davis’ paperwork and showed him where it specifically said he could not get drunk. Davis reportedly told them he still wasn’t taking the breath test and was subsequently arrested and transported to the Newton County Detention Center where he was charged with public drunk and disorderly conduct.

On the way there he allegedly told the officer the reason the probation officer had called the authorities was because she was mad at him because he told her he wasn’t giving her anymore money.