Eatonton Police Department officers intercepted a package of contraband believed to be intended for drop off at a nearby prison before it reached its destination last week.
A woman was arrested, and law enforcement officers are still seeking her husband, according to EPD Investigator Hargrove Jones.
While on patrol around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, March 9, Officer Kevin Malloy saw a blue Nissan Altima traveling along MLK Jr. Drive. In his report, Malloy said he recognized Dwytarius “Davion” Sanders in the passenger seat.
Because several active warrants for Davion Sanders’ arrest were outstanding, the officer followed the vehicle as it turned onto New Street and then Angel Square Village. Malloy turned on the blue flashing lights of his patrol vehicle and tried to get the driver of the Altima to pull over.
The car reportedly pulled into one of the residences' driveways, and the driver, later identified as Laura Sanders, got out and walked toward the residence. Davion Sanders got out, and when Malloy called out to him, Sanders ran away, causing a foot chase.
“Davion tried to jump a fence, but the bags he was carrying got caught on the barbed wire, and all the stuff inside fell out on the ground as he hopped over the fence,” Jones said.
The contents of the bag included various vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana totaling 7.89 ounces, several cell phones, cell phone chargers, and tobacco products, also packed in vacuum-sealed bags, according to the incident reports.
Jones said he believed the contraband was being taken to Washington State Prison in Davisboro because Sanders had been caught making a similar delivery there in the past.
“Those smaller sealed bags of individual phones were to be delivered to specific inmates who had ordered them,” Jones explained. “The inmates can do just as much business from inside a prison as they can on the streets. They can deal drugs, arrange drug deliveries, order murders, anything can be done with a cell phone.”
During the foot chase last week, Officer Chad Burket and Sgt. James Gaither searched for Sanders on New Street, where he was last seen running, Malloy wrote in his report. Their search was unsuccessful, and Davion Sanders was still at large Tuesday at the newspaper’s press time.
Meanwhile, Malloy detained Laura Sanders while he searched the Altima.
A FoodSaver vacuum sealer and a box of sealer bags were reportedly found inside the car. Some edible marijuana candy and a plastic bag that resembles a $100 bill were discovered inside Laura Sanders’ purse. The plastic bag also contained marijuana.
When questioned by Jones, Laura Sanders denied any knowledge of the contraband or her husband’s whereabouts.
Laura Lee Sanders, 27, of Grove Street, Eatonton, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug-related objects. She was booked into Putnam County Jail and released on a $6,000 property bond.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Davion Sanders is asked to call the Eatonton Police Department at 706- 485-3551.