Local Law Enforcement Agencies to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoints During the Holidays

Local law enforcement agencies will be teaming up for the Christmas and New Year holidays to help keep roads safer in DeKalb County
Sheriff Patrick Ray says the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department in cooperation with Alexandria and Smithville police Departments will be out in full force starting December 23rd through January 1st for the safety of you and your family. “The public’s safety is a top concern for me and my department. We will be doing saturated patrols and sobriety check points looking for intoxicated people who choose to get behind the wheel of a vehicle and drive. We will also team with the Alexandria and Smithville Police Departments to better cover areas where drinking and driving are more prevalent. ”
Nearly 23,000 people are killed every year in alcohol-related traffic accidents nationwide. Statistics show one life is lost every 22 minutes in alcohol-related traffic collisions. Law enforcement uses these checkpoints as a tool to reduce the number of intoxicated drivers on our highways and to diminish the amount of pain, suffering and death that results from intoxicated driving.”
The Sobriety Check Points will be conducted on the following Highways: Highway 56, Highway 70, Highway 53 in Liberty and Alexandria, and Highway 146.
Meanwhile, in his weekly update on crime news, Sheriff Ray says 35 year old Jose Cruz Quiroz of East 20th Street, Cookeville was charged Monday, December 7th with leaving the scene of an accident. On November 2nd Quiroz left the scene of an accident with property damage on Highway 56 North. Quiroz has admitted to being the driver of the vehicle. Bond for Quiroz was set at $2,500 and he will appear in court on December 17th
23 year old Justin Ray Lohorn of South Mountain Street, Smithville was charged Monday, December 7th with vandalism and theft of property after he broke into a drink machine at the Mystic Market on Highway 56 South and took approximately $31.00 in cash and caused $1,800 in damage to the machine. Lohorn’s bond was set at $10,000 and he will appear in court on December 17th.
Deputies responded to an accident on Evins Mill Road Tuesday, December 8th where they found 27 year old Matthew Allen Baker of Pine Orchard Road Smithville to be the driver of the vehicle. Baker was believed to be in an intoxicated state having slurred speech. He was unsteady on his feet. After failing field sobriety tasks, deputies placed Baker under arrest after which he became uncooperative, jerking away from the officers and trying to run off. Baker was loaded into the patrol car and transported to the jail. Deputies learned that Baker’s driver’s license was suspended for failure to maintain insurance. During the booking process at the jail, Baker became uncooperative again and a correctional officer was injured, suffering a broken finger, while trying to get him under control. Baker was charged with a first offense of driving under the influence, driving on a suspended driver’s license, and two counts of resisting arrest. Baker’s total bond was set at $12,500 and he will appear in court on January 14th..
21 year old Timothy William Patrick of The Loop Smithville was arrested Thursday, December 10th after a deputy spotted him driving on Midway Road. The officer had prior knowledge that Patrick’s license was suspended. Patrick’s bond was set at $1,500 and he will appear in court on December 30th.
Also on Thursday deputies responded to a call of an unwanted guest on Coconut Ridge Road Smithville. Officers spotted people leaving the residence and noticed that the vehicle they were in was swaying in the roadway. After stopping the automobile, deputies found 46 year old Charles Wayne Smithson of Dogwood Place Smithville to be the driver.. Smithson appeared to be intoxicated. Deputies administered field sobriety tasks until Smithson became uncooperative and then combative. Smithson was charged with a first offense of driving under the influence and resisting arrest. Bond for Smithson was set at $5,000 and he will appear in court on December 17th. A passenger in the vehicle, 51 year old Thomas David Hullett of Poplar Place Smithville was charged with public intoxication after he tried to get out of the vehicle and back into the driver’s side seat. Sheriff Ray says he refused to do what the deputies were asking him to do. Hullett’s bond was set at $1,000 and he will appear in court on December 17th.
41 year old Larry David Luna of Johnson Chapel Road, Sparta was arrested Friday on a sealed indictment charging him with manufacturing marijuana (more than 20 plants). Luna’s bond was set at $5,000.
Also on Friday, 31 year old James “Freddy” Summers of Hodges Road Smithville and 21 year old Christopher Allen Summers of Dale Ridge Road Dowelltown were both charged with failure to report on time to the DeKalb County Jail to serve their weekend sentences. Both men showed up on Friday after their 6:00 p.m. check in time. Bond for both was set at $1,500 each and both will appear in court on December 17th.
24 year old Jennifer Colleen Rhoades of Short Mountain Highway was charged Sunday with a first offense of driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license, and reckless endangerment of a child. Sheriff Ray says officers found Rhoades on New Home Road in Dowelltown passed out behind the wheel of a car with the vehicle’s engine running and her foot on the brake. An eight year old child was in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Rhoades appeared to be intoxicated. She was unsteady on her feet and had an odor of alcohol on her person. When deputies asked Rhoades where she thought she was, she stated that she was at Brush Creek. Bond for Rhoades was set at $6,000 and she will appear in court on January 14th. The Department of Children Services was also contacted.