In the span of a week, officers with the Poplarville Police Department recovered a stolen four-wheeler, missing from Pontotoc, Mississippi since 2014, and arrested one for possession of paraphernalia.
On Jan. 28, the Poplarville Police Department was contacted by a detective from the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Department in regards to a stolen four-wheeler, possibly located in Poplarville, Poplarville Police Chief Don T. “Butch” Raby Jr. said.
“We were informed by the detective in Pontotoc that the victim saw the four-wheeler for sale on a buy and sell Facebook page for motorcycles and ATVs,” Raby said. “It has been reported stolen since 2014.”
The victim contacted the seller who informed him that the vehicle was located at a shop in Poplarville, Raby said.
Poplarville police officers ran the VIN number, discovered it to be the stolen ATV and recovered it from the shop, the police chief said.
“No arrests were made and we had no problem returning it to the owner,” Raby said. “We confirmed everything and everyone was cooperative. There’s no telling how many hands it had been through.”
In another matter, on Feb. 1 at 10:40 p.m., a Poplarville police officer, while patrolling South Main Street, observed a vehicle traveling northbound with no headlights, Raby said.
When the officer turned his patrol car around to catch up with the vehicle, he observed what appeared to be a small purse thrown from the passenger’s window that landed on the road, Raby said.
The officer conducted a traffic stop, the police chief said.
Inside the vehicle was the driver, later identified as 25-year-old Jamie L. Lyons and her passenger, Raby said.
When the officer asked the passenger about the purse, he stated that “the driver told him to do it,” Raby said.
Lyons told the officer that the bag belonged to her husband, who was not present, Raby said.
Upon further investigation of the purse, the officer discovered numerous unused hypodermic needles, the police chief said.
Lyons consented to a search of her vehicle and the officer located a small black zipper bag on the driver’s side, which was filled with more unused needles and a purple glass pipe with brown residue believed to be used for smoking methamphetamine, Raby said.
Another small zippered bag containing small Ziploc bags with a green leafy residue believed to be marijuana was found on the floorboard of the passenger side, the police chief said.
Continued search of the vehicle, located multiple zippered bags with unused needles, Raby said.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Lyons had no driver’s license or car insurance and two active warrants from the Poplarville Police Department for failure to appear in court, Raby said.
Lyons was booked for the two warrants and charged with driving without headlights, no insurance, driving without a license and possession of paraphernalia, Raby said. The passenger was released, he said.