A 46-year-old Conyers man was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine after Deputies from the Newton County Sheriff's Office Crime Suppression Unit noticed the man's vehicle in an area where residents have been complaining of drug sales.
According to reports, deputies first noticed a white Cadillac Escalade turn into the area of Lunsford Circle off Emory Street at around 9 p.m. Wednesday. When the vehicle came back out of the area just three minutes later, the deputies’ training kicked in. Knowing that a common pattern for people purchasing drugs is short visits followed by quick exits of the area, the deputies were on alert and began following the vehicle.
The driver, later identified as Tony Morgan Hunt, reportedly turned from Lunsford onto Ivy and then left onto Lee Street, traveling past deputies. According to reports, the vehicle was traveling quickly in the direction of Conyers Street when deputies began following the driver.
Hunt allegedly went across Conyers and Reynolds streets then quickly turned left onto Washington and from there, back onto Emory Street, basically traveling in a circle.
He then reportedly turned from Emory onto Clark, headed to West Street. Once the driver turned onto West Street he allegedly drove between 30-40-feet straddling the center lane, then slowly drifted back into the correct lane of travel, but once Hunt crested the hill at Bohannon Street he reportedly started straddling the center lane once again.
The driver allegedly made a left from West Street onto U.S. Highway 278 and drove in the middle of the inside and outside lane of travel before veering slightly toward the inside lane then jerking the vehicle sharply into the outside lane of travel. Deputies turned on their emergency lights and reportedly noticed Hunt immediately begin to "frantically move around in the truck." They stopped Hunt at the Raceway gas station on 278 and approached the vehicle cautiously, due to the frantic movements they observed.
Deputies reportedly noticed Hunt was looking back at them as they approached his vehicle and when they reached the windows they asked him to talk to them but, according to reports, although Hunt looked at the deputies, he refused to roll down his window. When they shined their flashlights into the vehicle to make sure there were no weapons on the passenger seat, deputies allegedly noticed a crack pipe sitting between Hunt’s legs pointing at the ceiling of the vehicle.
One deputy opened the driver-side door at this point and told Hunt not to move; at which point he reportedly grabbed the crack pipe. Concerned that the glass pipe could either be shattered or used as a weapon, deputies pulled Hunt out of the vehicle and to the ground, while doing this Hunt allegedly threw the pipe under his vehicle.
As they secured Hunt and pulled him to his feet, one deputy observed something in Hunt's mouth. Although instructed to open his mouth, Hunt reportedly ignored those commands and instead began to swallow whatever was in his mouth at the time. Though deputies believed he had swallowed cocaine, Hunt refused medical treatment.
He was transported to the Newton County Detention Center where he was charged with possession of cocaine, failure to maintain lane, failure to signal and tampering with evidence.
