CRIME BEAT: Recent felony arrests

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Bradley Briggs – June 9
Bradley Shane Briggs, a fugitive from the law, was arrested by an officer with the Monticello Police Department (MPD) on Tuesday, June 9.

According to Briggs' arrest report, he had been originally spotted by Patrolman Smith but had chosen to flee, resulting in a chase.

After hearing Ptl. Smith's request for assistance, MPD's Captain Pitts responded and observed Briggs running south on Jefferson Street, away from the parking lot of the Central Church of Christ, in Monticello.

Capt. Pitts, in his vehicle, followed behind the fleeing suspect and observed him turn west into the driveway of a nearby property. From there, Briggs turned north onto Coopers Pond Road.

Once on the road, Briggs ran for 20 yards before he attempted to evade Capt. Pitts by running through a patch of briars that were growing on the south side of the road.

The briars turned out to be thicker than Briggs expected, resulting in him getting tangled and stuck. While stuck, Briggs removed a small parcel from his waist and moved it behind his back before dropping it to the ground. Ptl. Smith later recovered a small, clear bag with a leafy substance inside.

Capt. Pitts ordered Briggs to place his hands up, and after several commands, Briggs complied.

Once seeing that Briggs' hands were clear, Capt. Pitts approached and assisted Briggs in getting free from the briars before placing him in handcuffs.

Due to the fact that Briggs was severely out of breath and had several scratches on his body from running into the briars, paramedics from Jefferson County EMS were dispatched to the scene.

Briggs was eventually identified and Jefferson County 911 Dispatchers alerted Capt. Pitts to the fact that Briggs currently had a warrant that called for his arrest.

The warrant was released from Thomas County, Ga., and seemed to have originated due to a vehicle-related crime.
Once EMS arrived and Briggs was placed in their custody so that he could receive care, Capt. Pitts returned to the place where Briggs had been originally spotted, and he located a lighter as well as a firearm that was hidden under some leaves. The firearm's ID was processed through the Florida Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center, and Capt. Pitts determined that the gun had been reported stolen from Thomas County, Ga.
After returning to the scene where Briggs was being held, Capt. Pitts made contact with Briggs and read him his Miranda Rights, at which point Briggs stated that he wanted to speak with Pitts.

Briggs admitted that he had been in possession of the firearm and that he knew it had been stolen. According to Briggs, he had taken the gun in order to sell it for drugs.

Briggs also added that he had originally fled from Ptl. Smith because he had a small amount of marijuana in his pocket.

Briggs was transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital due to his injuries but was eventually medically cleared and placed under arrest for his warranted charges as well as for the charge of resisting an officer without violence, carrying a concealed firearm and dealing in stolen property.

Jermaine Thomas – June 14
Jermaine Nevell Thomas, 30, was arrested by a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Trooper on Sunday, June 14.
According to the FHP report, Thomas was stopped by Trooper Bethea shortly after 1 p.m.
The report states that Trooper Bethae was conducting a routine patrol of Interstate 10 near the 218-mile marker when he observed a driver not wearing a seatbelt.

The driver – later identified as Jermaine Thomas – was wearing a bright red shirt and was leaning forward, making it obvious that he was not buckled in.

Trooper Bethea conducted a traffic stop and made contact with Thomas who, for the entirety of the initial interaction, still did not have his seat belt on. According to Thomas, though, he had a seatbelt on originally but had taken it off when Trooper Bethea stopped him on the interstate roadside.

When Trooper Bethea asked for a valid driver's license, Thomas stated that he did not have one, but that he was driving his wife (who was in the front passenger seat) to Jacksonville, Fla. While he did not have a license, Thomas provided Trooper Bethea with his information.

That information was relayed to the Tallahassee Regional Communications Center (TRCC), who confirmed that Thomas' license was not valid, as Thomas had 16 different suspensions.

The information provided by TRCC further revealed that Thomas had been labeled as a habitual traffic offender as of 2017.

After learning this information, Trooper Bethea returned to the vehicle and asked Thomas to exit the vehicle, before placing him under arrest for Driving While License Suspended – Habitual Offender.

The vehicle was turned over to Thomas' wife, who did have a valid license.

Once transported to the Jefferson County Jail, Thomas was also issued a warning for not wearing a seat belt.