Two traffic stops for speeding land Brewton, Jay men in jail

Two traffic stops for speeding last week resulted in a Brewton man and a Jay man facing charges of possession of a controlled substance.

William Brantley, 28, of 4001 Appleton Raod in Brewton, is facing a felony evidence tampering charge following a traffic stop April 13 for speeding after deputies witnessed him try to throw a baggie containing marijuana out of the vehicle window.

Brantley was in a gray Jeep traveling at a high rate of speed northbound on Highway 87 near Stubbs Road April 13 when a deputy observed it pass another vehicle going southbound and activated his radar, according to a Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office report.

The deputy did a u-turn and initiated his emergency lights to pull the Jeep over for going 84 mph in a 55 mph zone and observed through the back window of the Jeep the passenger sit up and put his hand out the window. The deputy saw the hand drop a clear plastic baggie onto the roadway, according to the report.

The report said when the deputy approached the vehicle and spoke to the driver, he smelled the odor of marijuana and ask both driver and passenger for their identifications.

The report said the driver was identified as Melton Mitchell and the passenger as William Brantley. Another deputy detained both occupants while one went back to the location where he observed the bag was dropped and located a sandwich bag containing an estimated 1 to 1.5 grams of marijuana.

Both occupants claimed to have no knowledge of any illegal substances in the vehicle. Passenger Brantley furthermore stated he did not throw anything out of the window and that he was asleep when the deputy initiated the traffic stop, the report stated.

The deputy asked Brantley to show him his tongue, which Brantley complied. The deputy observed Brantley's tongue to have a green film on it, which is typically a sign of recent marijuana consumption, according to the report.

Brantley was arrested and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession (less than 20 grams) and felony tampering or destruction of evidence, transported to Santa Rosa County Jail and given a bond of $5,500.

Justin Adam Bush, 37, of Jay, was arrested April 20 and charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphrenalia when deputies pulling him over for speeding and searched the vehicle.

Bush was driving on Chumuckla Highway when a Santa Rosa deputy spotted him driving 66 mph with a 55 mph speed limit and pulled him over.

When the deputy made contact with Bush, Bush was behaving oddly and attempted to get out of the vehicle even though the deputy advised him to stay in it, and attempting to distance himself from the vehicle, the report said.

When the deputy detained Bush in handcuffs, he smelled the odor of marijuana coming from Bush and the vehicle.

Bush told the deputy he had just dropped off a female who left a black container which contained methamphetamines inside the vehicle

The report said the deputy searched the vehicle and found a small marijuana cigarett which had been smoked, a single pack of rolling papers and a black bag that contained methamphetamines, a scale and a glass smoking pipe.

Bush was arrested and transported to Santa Rosa County Jail and given a bond of $3,500.