COVINGTON, Ga. – Officers with the Covington Police Department (CPD) arrested three people, including one juvenile, took four guns off the street and possibly prevented other crimes Saturday evening after a traffic stop for no insurance turned into a fight and turned up drugs and the guns.
According to the CPD report, Officer Steve Swann was on patrol on Flat Shoals Road Sept. 2 at approximately 6:17 p.m. driving behind a silver Chevrolet sedan. According to the report, he did a check of the vehicle’s tag on his computer and it returned with no valid insurance. Swann activated his emergency equipment and initiated a traffic stop on Flat Shoals near the intersection of Sunny Drive.
The vehicle came to a stop at 10495 Flat Shoals Road and Swann approached the driver, identified as Lakemo Harvey, 21, of Decatur, and advised him of the reason for the stop and asked if he had a current insurance card.
There were four passengers in the vehicle, including a juvenile. The juvenile reportedly appeared overly nervous, sitting up perfectly straight between two people in the back seat with his eyes wide open, Swann reported. Sitting to the right of the juvenile, behind the front seat passenger was a male identified as Alexander Collins, 24, of Covington.
According to the report, Swann returned to his vehicle to wait for returns on the information and verify the identities of the ones who had provided names and birthdates, while Officer Keldrick Hunter stayed with the vehicle. Sgt. Chris Smith arrived on the scene and approached the vehicle on the passenger side to speak with its occupants. Smith reportedly observed Collins breathing heavily, as if out of breath or extremely nervous.
Hunter asked Collins to step out of the vehicle so officers could determine why he appeared so nervous. As Hunter asked Collins to step away from the vehicle, Collins reportedly turned away and appeared to be making slow, deliberate movements as if he was trying to conceal something.
According to the report, Hunter immediately observed a .40cal semi-auto Glock 23 pistol where Collins had been sitting and gave loud verbal commands for nobody to move. Hunter and Swann reportedly moved to detain Collins and place him in handcuffs. Collins reportedly snatched away from Swann’s grasp, knocking the handcuffs to the ground and attempted to flee from officers. According to the report, Smith and Swann attempted to gain control of Collins while Hunter returned to the vehicle and held the remaining occupants at gunpoint and removed the weapon from the vehicle.
Smith and Swann reportedly gave repeated commands for Collins to stop resisting and place his hands behind his back. Collins reportedly continued to fight and kept reaching towards his waist area as if he was trying to reach for something.
As officers continued to try to place Collins in handcuffs, he reportedly yelled several times for officers to kill him. According to the report, Swann retrieved his Taser and drive stunned Collins twice with little effect. Collins reportedly continued to struggle and would not comply with orders to stop resisting and place his hands behind his back.
Smith and Swann released their grip on Collins and Swann deployed Taser probes to which reportedly did not make good contact. As Collins got off the ground and ran north on the shoulder of Flat Shoals Road, Swann followed and deployed a second Taser cartridge. According to the report, the probes made a good connection and Collins fell to the ground where Smith and Swann were able to get back on top of him.
According to the report, other officers arrived on the scene and assisted in controlling Collins and placing him in the back seat of Swann’s patrol car. Once Collins was secured, Officers ordered the remaining occupants out of the vehicle. According to the report, as the juvenile was being removed from the car, Swann observed a black back pack being kicked up. The juvenile was placed in handcuffs and detained. As another occupant was removed from the vehicle, he kicked the backpack out of the car. That occupant was placed in handcuffs and detained. Harvey and one other occupant were placed in handcuffs and detained.
Harvey gave consent for the vehicle to be searched. Under the driver’s seat, police reportedly found an orange bag. Inside the bag, they discovered a chrome and black Cobra Denali .380cal pistol. The weapon had four rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Also in the bag was a box of .380 ammunition and another box of 9mm ammo, rolling papers, a pocket knife and various other small items.
According to the report, also in the bag was a prescription bottle with its label removed and seven white pills identified as Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen. Also under the driver’s seat was a 50 round drum magazine for a Glock .40cal pistol. The magazine was loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition.
Officers also reportedly located in the door panel pocket of the front passenger door a Glock 27 .40cal pistol. The magazine was loaded with 11 rounds with one round in the chamber. According to the report, also in the door were a dark blue ski mask and a black stocking cap. In the center console of the vehicle was reportedly a pair of brass knuckles.
According to the report, when officers checked the black backpack that had fallen out of the vehicle when the subjects were removed, they discovered a Taurus 9mm pistol loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition with one round in the chamber. According to the report, the juvenile claimed ownership of the backpack but told police he didn’t know how the weapon got in it. Also found in the vehicle was a red bandana in the back window.
The juvenile was transported to the CPD without incident where a juvenile complaint was filled out. He was then transported to the Newton County Jail and turned over to juvenile intake. Harvey was arrested and charged with driving without insurance, possession of Schedule II drugs, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and drugs not in original container.
Collins was arrested and charged with felony obstruction, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon of 1st offender status. The juvenile was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor. Collins and Harvey were also transported to the Newton County Jail. According to the report, the juvenile’s mother was notified of the situation.
