ANOTHER DOPE BAG TOSSED - a photo on Flickriver

HANCEVILLE POLICE ARREST MALE-FEMALE TEAM FOR METH TRAFFICKING

The recent law enforcement avoidance strategy of tossing bags of dope out of the windows of moving cars during traffic stops in the City of Hanceville is clearly not working for crime suspects.

During a traffic stop along County Road 541, Hanceville Police Sergeant Rob Long observed the passenger of a suspect vehicle hurl an object from the open window while the car was still in motion.

The male driver of the car was previously known to Long. He was aware the driver did not have a valid drivers license. This was enough information to have probable cause necessary to make a traffic stop.

Additionally, this suspect’s primary residence along the 1500 block of County Road 541 has been the focus of multiple complaints by city residents who believed he was actively merchanding and transacting drug deals from the premises.

Once the vehicle came to a stop, Long quickly confirmed the driver’s identity AND that he was operating without a valid driver’s license. Long called in Officer Joshua Howell as a backup. Long immediately then took action on the tossed object which he believed may have contained some form of illegal contraband.

While Officer Howell interacted with the male/female team at the vehicle, Sergeant Long proceeded to retrieve the hurled object from a water-filled drainage ditch. After a wet recovering effort, Long realized this was a dope bag likely containing a significant amount of methamphetamine.

At that point – around 10 am on Wednesday morning – Sergeant Long promptly arrested:

MICHAEL JAMES COCKER (42) of Hanceville

ROBIN SAMANTHA ELLIOT (34) of Hanceville

Coker and Elliot were temporarily held in custody at the Hanceville City Jail while Narcotics agents determined the contraband in the tossed bag was, in fact, methamphetamine. In total, it weighed in at a hefty 56 grams (2 ounces). This is well above the threshold (28 grams) to charge the suspects with trafficking.

The male/female pair was both charged separately for:

• Trafficking In Methamphetamine

Coker and Elliot were then delivered to the Cullman County Detention Center. Typically, the bond amount in Cullman County for meth trafficking offenses is $1,000,000.

Both Coker and Elliot are no strangers to arrests and the subsequent judicial processes. Public records reveal both have a history of prior arrests for narcotics-related violations. These two were arrested individually for unlawful possession of a controlled substance in the City of Hanceville just last summer.

Assistant Chief of Police Adam Hadder discussed the arrest after the successful delivery of the arrestees to the Detention Center:

“As police officers, we are truly fortunate to have a law enforcement focused Mayor, a law enforcement committed City Council and a hard-nosed, experienced, by-the-book Chief of Police. This gives everyone in the department the structure, freedom, and motivation to do our jobs to the best of our ability. Sergeant Long is a top example of what’s possible. As a patrol officer, he is on the frontline. Due to his awareness, experience, and instincts, he just turned a traffic stop into a major drug trafficking arrest and seizure. This is not the first time he has done that. His actions are a great example of what is possible with our patrol officers.”
Lieutenant Brannon Hammick who is a member of the Hanceville Police Narcotics unit explains the evolvement of his department’s philosophy and approach to law enforcement:

“We deeply appreciate and we are truly grateful for the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ movement across the country. Having citizens come in and bring us food and offer kind words is great. As a result, we realize the role of the modern day police departments has changed.
As police officers, we are part of our own ‘Your Lives Matter’ movement. That is, we believe the lives of every resident in the City of Hanceville matters. Citizens deserve police protection that goes beyond just ‘busting bad guys’. Our new ‘Your Lives Matter’ focus is on the betterment of the entire community through proper law enforcement practices.
This meth bust by Sgt. Long is a great example. These two individuals are chronic offenders. They apparently do not ‘get it’. It is our job to get them off the street and keep that poison away from our children, schools, and families. At the same time, their unlawful chronic misbehavior affects everyone, particularly their close associates, loved ones, and families. These victimless crimes are hardly that …. and they take the greatest toll on people close to them. It is like a rock in a pond, their behavior, and subsequent arrest, messes with the fabric of our community.
Our ‘Your Lives Matter’ approach addresses that. Yeah … we are going to bust bad guys while knowing our real job is to make Hanceville and better, safer, and more vibrant city.”
Full story can be found here: cullmantoday.com/2017/01/27/another-dope-bag-tossed-hance...

Taken on: January 27, 2017

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MICHAEL

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ROBIN

SAMANTHA

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Sets appears in: • Cullman Crime Watch

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