A Flowery Branch man who fled a Georgia State Patrol (GSP) traffic stop on Monday, abandoning his running vehicle in a South Hall neighborhood, is free on bond following his arrest Wednesday in Barrow County.
The state patrol was working in conjunction with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to apprehend Aaron Tyrone Stephens, Jr., 31. GSP charged Stephens with several traffic offenses, while SIU investigators charged him with a number of drug crimes related to the incident Monday.
HCSO NARRATIVE:
“The incident began just before 5:45 p.m. when a GSP trooper attempted to stop Stephens when (he was spotted) in his vehicle in the area of Friendship Road (SR 347) and Bristol Industrial Parkway. Stephens refused to stop, fleeing northbound on Gainesville Highway and eventually turning on Brentwood Drive and then Kentwood Court where he abandoned his vehicle. Stephens ran from the scene on foot.
SIU investigators responded to the scene and discovered Stephens had discarded two baggies of cocaine (just over seven grams) on a public sidewalk on Brentwood Drive. Inside the vehicle, they discovered 12 psilocybin mushroom chocolate bars belonging to Stephens as well as two weapons – a handgun and a rifle.
As a result, SIU investigators charged Stephens with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of psilocybin with intent to distribute, abandonment of dangerous drugs, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and use of a communications device to facilitate a drug transaction.
Stephens was transported from the Barrow County Jail to the Hall County Jail on Feb. 12. He posted a bond of $20,290 and was released from custody (Thursday).”