Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS — An SUV parked in front of a vacant house caught the interest of a Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office deputy, which led to a chase and the arrest of one of the passengers on drug charges.

According to the incident report, a deputy noticed the SUV parked in front of a house on Morris Drive at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. When the deputy questioned the six occupants of the vehicle, he smelled a strong odor of raw marijuana and called for backup.

When the backseat passengers were asked to get out of the SUV, a man in the vehicle reportedly smelled of marijuana and alcohol and an open bottle of vodka was found on the floorboard where he had been sitting. That passenger, Rory Wayne Lesley Jr., 19, of 84 Meadow Overlook Drive in Covington, was cited on a charge of underage consumption of alcohol.

Officers also found a large bag of marijuana inside a black bag on the floor of the vehicle next to where passenger Ernest Stevens, 20, of 306 Morris Drive in Conyers, had been sitting. Stevens took off running, losing his jacket shoes and hat in the process.

Deputies ran a computer check on Stevens and discovered he lived four or five houses away from where the SUV was parked. As they approached Stevens’ house, a silver Honda pulled out of the driveway at a high rate of speed and fled the area.

He was later stopped at BB&T on Ga. Highway 138, where he jumped out of the car and ran across all lanes of the highway, dodging traffic. He was caught and arrested at the Chevron gas station at Flat Shoals Road and Ga. Highway 138.

A woman in the SUV told authorities that Stevens had put the bag of marijuana in her purse when the deputy first approached their vehicle. A small silver scale was found in the floorboard where Stevens had been sitting, according to the report. Also found were a black backpack with a Mason jar containing 6 grams of marijuana, a black scale, and six small plastic bags commonly used to package marijuana. All the occupants of the vehicle said the bag belonged to Stevens as well as the large bag of marijuana, which weighed 29 grams.

Stevens was taken to the Rockdale County Jail and booked on charges of reckless conduct, possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance with intent to distribute, willful obstruction of law enforcement officers, and purchase/possession/manufacture/distribution or sale of marijuana.