By Rupert Howell
A stolen firearm and felon in possession of a firearm were two alleged crimes included in occurrence reports submitted by Batesville Police Department for the past weekend.
Jaterance Smith was arrested Friday, April 22 and charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and no seatbelt according to BPD Sergeant Michael Hardin’s report that explained Smith was originally pulled over for a seatbelt violation.
The vehicle was occupied by three occupants according to the report and when Hardin noticed something suspicious he asked occupants to put their hands on the dash and called for backup.
The report states that Smith had to be asked several times to get out of the vehicle and when he did a small black handgun fell to the ground.
A passenger, Jeremy Chapman, got out and a package of cigarettes fell from his lap the report continued and states that marijuana was found inside the pack.
Smith was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon and no seatbelt while Chapman was arrested for possession of marijuana, less than an ounce.
An additional charge of possession of a controlled substance was added after Chapman bonded out and officers located a clear plastic bag containing alleged cocaine powder at the bottom of the cigarette pack. He was re-arrested at Meadow View apartments after the additional charge was added.
It was early Sunday morning according to Patrolman Scott Cagle’s report when he was assisting with a license check point on Highway 35 north when he detected the odor of marijuana coming fro inside a vehicle driven by Arious Thomas.
Cagle performed a search of Thomas and located, “a Hi-Point 380ACP on Thomas’ right side that was stuck down in his pants.
Cagle’s report stated that after calling in the serial number to dispatch he learned the gun was stolen in Panola County and the following search revealed marijuana in the rear seat of the vehicle. Thomas was charged with possession of a stolen firearm and a passenger was charged with simple possession of marijuana.
Another weekend report indicated Tevis D. Flowers was charged with shoplifting on the behalf of Lowe’s after the Loss Prevention Agent produced a video showing a man, later identified as Flowers, stealing a Dewalt impact wrench according to the April 20 report of Sergeant Will Parrish.
Patrolman Tressa Lamb’s report of Friday, April 22 recorded a victim’s loss of a black wallet when left in a basket in Walmart parking lot. The victim stated the wallet had $2,100 in cash, drivers license, social security card, credit card EPPI card with $670 in child support and Medicaid card  within.
A checkpoint stop on Panola Avenue Friday at 11:04 p.m. resulted in the arrest of Shaquille Ladarius Winfield for a contempt of court warrant.
BPD Special Operations also discovered what appeared to be marijuana seeds in the floor board leading to a search of the trunk where a plastic bag with a leafy green substance, allegedly marijuana, Winfield was also charged with possession of marijuana.
Sergeant Michael Hardin’s report of 12:19 a.m. Saturday morning indicated two charged, one for possession of controlled substance, driving while license suspended, no child restraint, no turn signal and another, a passenger, for simple possession of marijuana.
A written statement later from passenger Eric Smith caused the release of the driver as Smith admitted the crack cocaine belong to him and not the driver.
A laptop was missing from a home on Lester Street and the owner noticed it missing Saturday at about 9 p.m. The owner had last seen the laptop that morning.
There was no sign of forced entry, the owner did not remora leaving doors open and the serial number was not available according to Sergeant Richard Stonestreet’s report.
A checkpoint on Eureka Road resulted in the arrest of Dandre Cole who Patrolman Cagle learned had no license or insurance on the vehicle. An odor of marijuana resulted in a search resulting in alleged marijuana being located in the console and a charge of possession being added to driving with suspended license and no insurance with a $1,669 bond.
Failure to dim headlights resulted in the traffic stop for another person now charged with possession of marijuana, less than an ounce. Mathew Snyder admitted to Sergeant Hardin there was a pill bottle in the console that contained marijuana according to the occurrence report.