Crime Beat: Recent felony arrests

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Phillip Halcomb – January 2
Phillip David Halcomb, 54, of Tallahassee, was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 2 on an outstanding warrant regarding a previous failure to appear charge.
According to Halcomb's warrant, he had been instructed to appear before the court system for a prior crime of “molesting a vending machine.”
Despite the wording of the charge, Florida Statute says that 'molesting a vending machine' could apply to “maliciously or mischievously” breaking, injuring, damaging or inserting a body part into any coin-operated vending machine or parking meter.
The charge is considered a misdemeanor of the second degree in the State of Florida.
Halcomb's arrest report provides no other details, outside of stating that Halcomb's original warrant had been issued on May 5, 1992 – making the warrant over 20 years old.
Halcomb was arrested by Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Carter and booked into the Jefferson County Jail.

Estella Roberts – January 4
Estella D. Roberts, 49, of Tallahassee, was arrested on Saturday, Jan. 4 on the charge of criminal mischief and felony battery.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) report, Deputy Krajewski was dispatched to a local residence concerning a disturbance.
Upon his arrival, Deputy Krajewski made contact with the complainant, who stated that his ex-girlfriend – later identified as Estella Roberts – was on his property and was 'messing with' his vehicle.
The victim further stated that Roberts was drunk and belligerent and that he wished to have her trespassed.
Deputy Krajewski began the process of filling out a trespass warning for Roberts and asked Jefferson County Dispatch to run her name and date of birth in the meantime.
Dispatch advised Deputy Krajewski that Roberts currently had an active, in-county warrant involving battery on a person 65 years or older.
At that time, Roberts was placed under arrest.
Estella Roberts was transported to the Jefferson County Jail, where she was booked on the charge of felony battery on a person 65 years or older and criminal mischief resulted in $201-$999 in damages.

Mark Samuels – January 8
Mark Anthony Samuels, III, 18, of West Palm Beach, Fla., was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 8 for the possession of marijuana.
According to the report issued by the JCSO, Investigators Matthews and Peacock conducted a traffic stop on I-10 after witnessing a vehicle traveling at 104 mph.
After stopping the vehicle. Inv. Peacock made contact with the driver, who immediately asked if he had been pulled over on the account of the marijuana within his car.
That had not been the reason for the traffic stop.
Inv. Peacock informed the driver, who was identified as Mark Samuels, that he had actually been stopped on account of his speeding. At this point, Samuels was also asked to step out of the vehicle.
Samuels had shown Inv. Peacock a small amount of marijuana, which was concealed in the driver door handle, and when Inv. Peacock asked Samuels if there was any additional illegal substance in the vehicle, Samuels stated that there was more marijuana on the floorboard.
Samuels was instructed to stand with Inv. Matthews while Inv. Peacock conducted a search of the vehicle.
During that search, Inv. Peacock located a small amount of marijuana in the door handle and a brown paper bag, containing several smaller plastic bags of marijuana, on the floorboard.
Samuels was placed in handcuffs and detained.
Each bag of marijuana was weighed, and the report states that there was a total of 28 grams.
Samuels was read his Miranda Rights, and he refused to speak with the law enforcement officers anymore beyond this point.
Cpl. Adamczyk arrived to transport Samuels to the Jefferson County Jail, where he was booked on the charges of possession of marijuana over 20 grams.

Shadrick Norton – January 8
Shadrick Lavane Norton, 36, of Tallahassee, was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 8 after being found in possession of crack cocaine as well as ammunition.
According to the report issued by the JCSO, Investigator Matthews conducted a traffic stop in the area of St. Augustine and Armstrong Roads after seeing a vehicle driving without an active tag light.
After stopping the vehicle and making contact with the unnamed driver, Inv. Matthews noticed a man leaning over on the passenger side of the vehicle. While the man's head was lowered, Inv. Matthews was able to recognize him as Shadrick Norton due to previous interactions with the man.
The driver was asked to step outside of her vehicle in order to speak privately with her, and once she was out, Inv. Matthews asked her where they were traveling from. The driver advised that she had been at her cousin's house previously but would not answer whether or not she had picked Norton up from that location.
When Inv. Matthews asked whether there were any illegal substances in the car, the driver replied that there wasn't any, to her knowledge. When asked for permission to search the vehicle, the driver denied Inv. Matthews request, as was her right.
JCSO's Investigator Peacock, who was also on scene, then asked Norton to exit the vehicle so that K-9 Otis could conduct a sniff-search on the outside of the vehicle.
During K-9 Otis' deployment, the canine gave a positive indication that there were illegal substances on the passenger side of the vehicle, near where Norton had been sitting. When Inv. Peacock attempted a search of Norton's person, Norton tensed up and refused to fully cooperate with the pat-down.
Norton did, however, empty his pockets, putting the contents on the hood of the vehicle. In his pockets, Norton had a pair of brass knuckles, a debit card, money and a 22-round bullet.
During the following pat-down, Inv. Peacock found a concealed pill bottle containing nine pieces of crack cocaine on Norton's person.
Now that there was probable cause, JCSO investigators conducted a search of the vehicle and found a white bag with additional 22-round bullets on the passenger side of the vehicle; when asked about the bullets Norton replied that he had 'found them.'
All items were taken as evidence and the driver was released with a verbal warning regarding the darkened tag light.
Meanwhile, Norton was read his Miranda Rights and placed under arrest for possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
Shadrick Norton was transported to the Jefferson County Jail, where he was booked at 7:45 p.m.

James Boland – January 10
James “Donnie” Boland, 72, of Monticello, was arrested on Friday, Jan. 10 with the charges of aggravated assault – intent to kill and discharging a firearm in public.
On the above date, at around 11:34 p.m., Jefferson County's 911 Dispatch Center received a call in regards to someone shooting a firearm in a residential area. The caller advised dispatch that he had heard several people arguing before the sounds of shots fired and the caller was concerned for the safety of the people involved.
JCSO Cpl. Ryland was dispatched to the call and while en route to the scene, the 911 call center received a second call from another individual about the concerning sounds of gunfire. This time, the caller was a witness who stated that a neighbor, James Boland, was standing on his back porch, shooting a handgun.
Cpl. Ryland made contact with the caller/witness, who stated that while she was in her residence, she had heard several gunshots coming from outside. Shortly after, she heard her son ask someone “why are you shooting?”
When the witness had gone outside to investigate, she saw Boland, gun in hand, standing on his back porch and yelling at the witness' son. When the witness asked Boland why he was shooting, he yelled at her as well and shot the firearm two more times.
Cpl. Ryland also spoke with the witness' son (who was identified as the victim), who said that he had gone to his truck to retrieve some items. Since it was dark outside, the victim had to use a flashlight to see his way from the truck and back to the house.
While he was outside, however, Boland came out onto his porch and turned on a floodlight, illuminating the yard.
Then, Boland fired six shots while cursing at the victim.
The JCSO report states that during the gunfire, the victim took shelter near the back of the residence, and the victim informed Cpl. Ryland that he was definitely in fear of his life, as Boland appeared extremely angry.
After Boland stopped shooting, the victim asked him why he was shooting. Instead of answering, Boland fired two more shots.
A second witness who had been with the victim while unloading the truck corroborated the victim's story, adding that when Boland walked onto his porch, he yelled about the victim's flashlight.
The second witnessed said that when the victim's mother came out to inquire about the shooting, Boland began firing his gun again.
Cpl. Ryland spoke with Boland, who was sitting outside in his back yard. As Cpl. Ryland approached, he could see that Boland was “extremely upset.”
When asked about the incident, Boland stated that he had been woken from sleep by his neighbors making a lot of noise and shining flashlights in his residence. Boland added that the noise and light are things he constantly deals with.
He denied shooting the gun, however, saying that someone else had fired the weapon.
Boland was read his Miranda Rights, at which point he refused to answer any more questions without a lawyer present.
Boland was placed under arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – intent to kill and discharging a firearm on public or residential property.

Derrick Renfroe – January 13
Derrick O'Neal Renfroe, 42, of Nashville, Ga., was arrested on Monday, Jan. 13 on the several drug charges related to meth and marijuana.
On the above date, at around 3:30 p.m., Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Johnson, along with Cpl. Adamczyk, was traveling northbound on US 19, just north of US 27, when they noticed a white pickup truck parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane.
The two law enforcement officers turned around to conduct a welfare check on the driver since they observed a person lying in the right-front passenger seat.
Deputy Johnson made contact with the person, Derrick Renfroe, who was identified as the vehicle's driver. When Deputy Johnson asked Renfroe if he was alright, Renfroe appeared disorientated and stated that he didn't know where he was.
Deputy Johnson could smell the odor of marijuana coming from within the vehicle, which Renfroe was questioned on.
Renfroe stated that marijuana had been smoked in the vehicle earlier, and the smell was coming from his cigarette pack. Deputy Johnson advised that he was going to search the vehicle, and Renfroe exited the truck.
Before beginning the search, Deputy Johnson could already see a small amount of marijuana on the floorboard near Renfroe's feet. During a search of Renfroe's person, Deputy Johnson also found a small tin box which contained methamphetamine.
Renfroe was placed in handcuffs, and Deputy Johnson later found three smoking devices and an additional quantity of marijuana within Renfroe's truck.
Renfroe was transported to the Jefferson County Jail, where he was booked on the charges of possession of a controlled substance – meth, possession of marijuana less than 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia.