Trio Arrested After Traffic Stop

Three people face drug charges after a traffic stop over the weekend.

Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said that a Sheriff’s deputy was on routine patrol Saturday night, June 11, when they performed a traffic stop on a vehicle for improper vehicle registration in the area of Georgia Highway 17 and Alfred Camp Road.

Shirley said that the vehicle displayed a temporary tag without an expiration date.

“As soon as the deputies approached the driver’s side window, they could smell a strong odor of what appeared to be marijuana emanating from inside the vehicle,” said Shirley. “The drug K-9, Gunner, was called in and as a result of K-9 Gunner searching the perimeter of the vehicle, it alerted on illegal drugs inside the vehicle. Deputies searched the vehicle and found more than 44 grams of marijuana.”

Shirley said that 22-year-old Jamayl Stoudemire, 22-year-old Domineke Vick, and 18-year-old Raylakiesh Jenkins, all of Chattanooga, Tennessee, were all arrested and charged with Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute.

Stoudemire, the driver of the vehicle, was also charged with an expired vehicle registration.

At last report, Stoudemire was being held in the Stephens County Jail on an $11,000 bond, while Vick and Jenkins were being held on a $10,000 bond.

The sheriff credited Stephens County K-9, Gunner, and his handler, Corporal Mobley, for assisting the deputy in making the arrest.

“Had we not had the K-9, it certainly would have taken a lot longer to find the illegal drugs and in some instances, it is so well hidden in hidden compartments, that deputies or officers would never find it,” said Shirley. “It can make a long, long search into a short one.”

Shirley said Gunner is a brown Labrador retriever and has been with the department since 2015.

He and his handler, Corporal Mobley, are nationally certified by the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association.