HAMLET - The Hamlet Police Department issued charges for cocaine and marijuana possession, driving while impaired, and numerous traffic safety violations in a span of one week.
On Tuesday, May 15th, a traffic stop on East Main Street led to charges of felony possession of cocaine and simple possession of marijuana.
Marquise Montel Manning, 22. of Old Gibson Road in Hamlet was subjected to a traffic stop as a result of a lighting violation.
The smell of marijuana emanated from the vehicle, giving probable cause for the officer to conduct a search of the car.
This search ultimately yielded the discovery of both marijuana and cocaine.
On Saturday, May 19th at approximately 10:30 p.m., a Hamlet police officer observed a yellow pick-up truck traveling westbound on Highway 74 with a non-operating right headlamp.
The subsequent traffic stop yielded evidence of recent alcohol consumption by the driver. Breath analysis tests confirmed the officer’s suspicions.
David Allen Perdue, Sr., 55, of 10 Hogan Drive in Hamlet was charged with driving while impaired; driving with open container of alcoholic beverage; fictitious license plate; improper equipment; failure to burn headlights or rear lamps; and driving a motor vehicle with no operator’s license.
On Monday, May 21st, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., a “saturation patrol” of Highway 74 was conducted by the Hamlet Police Department, the Rockingham Police Department, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department.
This tandem operation was part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and resulted in a total of 29 charges for highway safety law violations.
Citations were issued for 20 seat belt violations, four driving while license revoked charges, two counts of driving without a license, two expired license tags, and one expired registration.
This effectively meant that a violation was detected approximately once every eight minutes along Highway 74 between Hamlet and Rockingham.
