At least four people were jailed on possession of controlled substance charges over the weekend, according to arrest reports.
Martin Luther King Drive Traffic Stop
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Silas Whaley stopped a black Chevrolet Tahoe at 9:01 p.m. Jan. 2, in the 400 block of Martin Luther King Drive for a traffic violation.
After contacting with the 36-year-old Sulphur Springs man driving, Whaley reported conducting a probable cause search of the SUV. Several rectangular shaped pills, divided into four sections and later identified as Xanax, were found in the pocket of the man’s hoodie inside the vehicle, Whaley alleged in arrest reports.
The driver, identified in arrest reports as Devonta Qukashawn Brown, was taken into custody and jailed at 9:22 p.m. Jan. 2 on a possession of less than 28 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone as the stop occurred less than 1,000 feet from a drug-free zone, according to Whaley noted in arrest reports. Brown was released from Hopkins County jail Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 on a $5,000 bond on the charge, according to arrest reports.
Saturday was the second time Brown was booked into Hopkins County jail in three months. He was a also jailed Oct. 9 on a no insurance/failure to maintain financial responsibility charge and no valid driver’s license charge, according to Hopkins County jail records.
State Highway 154 Traffic Stop
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Aaron Chaney reported stopping a Kia Sedona at 9:13 p.m. Jan. 2, on State Highway 154 south, just north of County Road 2300, for a defective head light.
While speaking to a 51-year-old Sulphur Springs woman in the minivan, Chaney said he suspected her to be under the influence of methamphetamine based on her actions. Mary Angela Denton allegedly took deep breaths and long inhales, and her lower jaw moved seemingly uncontrollably from let to right, a sign of bruxism. So, Chaney said he asked her if she had anything illegal in the vehicle and requested permission to search the minivan.
She became emotional and admitted to having a pipe used to smoke narcotics, Chaney noted in arrest reports. Chaney and HCSO Sgt. Scott Davis, who responded with Chaney on the traffic stop, advised Denton to exit the vehicle. Due to her emotional state, the deputies reported they put her in handcuffs prior to conducting a vehicle search.
The deputies allegedly found a bag with less than 1 gram of a crystal-like substance they believed to be methamphetamine and a burned glass pipe of the kind commonly used to smoke meth in a small handbag. Additional drug paraphernalia also was allegedly located, according to arrest reports.
As a result, Denton was jailed for possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group one controlled substance. She was released from jail Jan. 3, 2021 on a $5,000 bond on the felony charge, according to jail reports.
Interstate 30 Traffic Stop
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Richard Greer reported stopping a black Nissan Rogue at 1:10 p.m. Sunday for traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour on Interstate 30 east at mile marker 119.
Upon contact with the driver, Greer noted the 42-year-old Dallas woman appeared to be agitated and under the influence of an unknown type of narcotic. Geer further alleged the woman, identified in arrest reports as Shanna Kay Segleski, to be evasive when speaking with him and when answering questions, claiming to she’d been speeding because she needed to urinate.
Segleski reportedly agreed to allow the SUV to be searched. Greer reported finding in the front passenger area of the vehicle a lockbox containing a bag with a crystal-like substance he believed based on his many years of experience in law enforcement to be methamphetamine, as well as a couple of baggies with what appeared to Greer to be marijuana or hashish and numerous items of drug paraphernalia.
The lockbox and contents were seized as evidence and Segleski was jailed for possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance, according to arrest reports. Segleski remained in Hopkins County jail Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, on the felony charge, according to jail reports.
Gaines Street Traffic Stop
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Cameron Robinson Jan. 3 reported seeing a woman he recognized as Cecily Elizabeth Saffel, a woman he knew had a suspended driver’s license, driving a Pontiac Solstice on WA Street at Martin Luther King Drive. Robinson stopped Saffel at 4:25 p.m. Sunday on Gaines Street at Fuller Street, and verified the woman’s license was indeed suspended with previous convictions for driving while license invalid. So, the officer took the 25-year-old Sulphur Springs woman into custody for driving while license invalid, according to arrest reports.
Saffel allegedly admitted to concealing contraband on her. At the jail, 3.7 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine were recovered, according to police reports. Consequently, Saffel was also charge with possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone, according to arrest reports.
Saffel remained in Hopkins County jail Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. Bond was set at $1,000 on the driver’s license charge, according to jail reports. Saffel was booked into Hopkins County jail three times in 2020: on Jan. 31, 2020, on warrants for driving while license invalid and not taking care of a failure to maintain financial responsibility charge; Oct. 1 for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone; and on Oct. 5 for possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge, according to jail records.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
