Pendergrass arrests eight over week

Wednesday, February 18. 2009

The Pendergrass Police Department arrested eight people over the last week, including three window tint violations. Charged were:

•Pedro Garcia Galvin, 27, 3656 Chandler Road, Gainesville, window tint violation and no license.

•Marshall Jerome King, 43, 1449 Alexander Road, Commerce, failure to appear.

•Robert Dwayne Battles, 46, 235 Mountain Creek Road, Pendergrass, driving with suspended license, headlight requirement, tail light requirement, DUI less safe and possession of marijuana less than one ounce.

•Stephen Ray Hoke, 38, 2401 Old State Road, Pendergrass, window tint violation and driving while license suspended.

•Larry Lamar Maddox, 50, 123 Martin Court, Athens, window tint violation and driving while license suspended.

•Joseph Tyrone Stafford, 22, 3288 Baker Road, Gainesville, disorderly conduct.

•Humberto Caballero Vargas, 21, 51 Andrew City Court, Jasper, no license, no muffler and emission equipment violation.

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#1 todd whitehead on 02/22/09 at 12:20 PM [Reply]

What a joke pendergrass p.d. Has become. Everyone was going after arcade and now there is no difference between where arcade was and what pendergrass has become.

#2 Timmy on 02/22/09 at 04:26 PM [Reply]

Pendergrass has become the joke of the Nation. A nationally known speed trap which rakes in gobs of cash.

They like to especially pick on Latinos I have noticed.

It's sick.

Time to vote them out and bring in new, younger folks from Atlanta.
.

#2.1 John D on 02/27/09 at 05:37 AM [Reply]

I'd rather have a speed trap here and there than a bunch of lowridering mexicans and some city boys from Atlanta. What's so great about Atlanta police? They're afraid to even go into certain areas down there. A friend of mine had to drive around in his girlfriends car in parts of Atlanta's ghetto to find his stolen car because the cops were afraid of that place. And when HE found it he notified the cops and they asked HIM what he was doing in that area. They made no arrests even when a man came outside and asked my friend what he was doing near his car(the stolen vehicle). Atlanta is a joke and all their cops a cowards.

#2.1.1 Johnny Burnette on 03/24/09 at 08:19 AM [Reply]

Are you a total idiot!!!
All of Atlanta's police are not cowards.
Do you have any idea what it takes to be a cop? Not running around poping off at the gums about something you know nothing about. You want to figure it out, come ride with me for a night or two and see how much is involved.

#3 Sam Waktins on 02/22/09 at 04:32 PM [Reply]

Well just figure their protecting us againt THE WINDOW
TINTERS, I HEAR THEY ARE VERY DANGEROUS PEOPLE! lol lol
What a bunch of lazy butts working as cops

#3.1 Cevin on 03/02/09 at 03:01 PM [Reply]

Question: If cops put tint on their windows, are they a hypocrite for writing a citizen a ticket? After all, I can't tell if they are pointing a gun or a laser at me while I'm driving. Plus, can someone tell me what's the different from having tint on your car and having curtain/blinds on your house windows. I dont see cops writing tickets for having blinds...since they can't see in your house...Oh by the way, if you are looking for a new place to put a flashing light on your police car, you can put one on your valve stem of your tire..haha

#3.1.1 lauren on 03/13/09 at 09:36 AM [Reply]

I have a Hispanic boyfriend whom they pulled over, for "driving while mexican".After a through search the only charge they could come up was "driving without a license". His truck was impounded for three days, causing him to miss three days of work. When we showed up to the get the truck out of impound we were turned away 3 different times, for various lame reasons. I called the GBI for help I was told they couldn't get involved unless invited to by the sheriff, or DA. It truly looked like Pendergrass was going to keep this valuable vehicle, until we were able to get the Mexican Consulate involved. My boyfriend was told that it is common for Mexicans to have valuable property taken from them, and that he was fortunate to have an American girlfriend pushing the issue on his behalf. I wrote this whole sad tale up for Mainstreet news, but for some reason it never got investigated. I would love to see an investigation done into the how much property Pendergrass seizes and the ethnicity of the person it was seized from. I go 10 miles out of my way to stay out of the city limits of Pendergrass. Not that I'm doing anything wrong, I just don't want to feed that fat cash cow, over trivial, often times baseless charges.

#3.1.1.1 Wilco on 04/27/09 at 10:09 PM [Reply]

Just wondering, if you got the Mexican Consulate involved, what type of visa does your boyfriend have? How long has he been here on the visa? If the Mexican Consulate was involved then that means he isn't a citizen. Did the truck have GA Tags and registration in his name? Did he have insurance? If he does have a valid visa is it the correct type to even allow him to work here? Any of the above items could be reason to hold the vehicle. I am sure that if the truth were really told here, he didn't get stopped for "Driving While Mexican." There was a reason he was stopped. As small as it might be, there was a reason even if he wasn't cited for it. What were the various lame excuses that you were given? That might help explain the reasons for the delay. Many times once the vehicle is towed it is up to the individual towing company to decide what they require before they release the vehicle. People always seem to bash the police until they are needed. If that dude that was arrested for DUI and possession of MJ ran over one of your friends and family would you still be complaining?

#3.1.1.1.1 JAUTRY on 06/23/09 at 05:09 PM [Reply]

Wilco, if Lauren's story is accurate then it does sound suspect. If the only thing he was charged with was driving without a license then what was the probable cause for stopping him in the first place. As a general rule cops do write citations for that charge just to keep themselves out of trouble, otherwise they could be accused of profiling and have no defense to offer. You can't tell by a passing vehicle if the driver is licensed or not. You need a reason to stop him. His appearance or "I felt like it" are not good reasons. The PPD has been under fire for a long time. It is unusual that such a small town would rank as high as it does on the income from traffic fines report.

#3.1.2 Ron Wilder on 06/22/09 at 08:48 AM [Reply]

i hate pendergrass and driving trough pendergrass. all the cops are assholes i cant even drive to my house without them riding my tail and pulling me over for nothing, since i've been in pendergrass for 4 months i've been pulled over more times, than in 15 years of living in gwinnett

#4 Steve on 03/02/09 at 04:29 PM [Reply]

Answer: No, the cops will not get a ticket for tint on their patrol cars, because this law does not apply to them. When well informed citizens like yourself start pulling over the police, then for your safety then maybe this law will change so you can see if they are pointing a pistol or taser at you. You people have nothing better to do than bad mouth every move a police officer makes. If they pull over a car their harassing the public, if they are sitting in a parking lot they are being lazy. Unless you have been in their shoes, then just shut your pie hole and let them do their jobs. Just because you have been caught before, then don't blame the police, you only have yourself to blame because you made the wrong choice.

#4.1 Cevin on 03/03/09 at 06:29 AM [Reply]

Reply to Steve: "No, the cops will not get a ticket for tint on their patrol cars, because this law does not apply to them."....wow, So cops are above the law. What other law does not apply.....speeding? If I was a banker, could I start writing bad checks and not pay my loans? Would I be above the law? All I ask it that after you have racial profiled and found out who is in the vehicle. Let us go with a warning. After all, we already pay your salary and every ticket in my book will be considered a bonus and you know what President Obama thinks about bonuses....

#4.1.1 Steve on 03/03/09 at 12:15 PM [Reply]

Cevin, the more you type the more of an idiot you make of yourself. No one, including me, said cops were above the law. The window tint exclusion for law enforcement was put in place for a couple of reasons. One being for K-9 officers so the tint will help keep the car cooler for the dogs, and another reason is so agencies can keep their cars cooler for all of the electronics in their vehicles, mainly computers. If you want this changed then start crying to your local senator. Another thing, if you would have noticed the other charges listed along with the window tint violations, then maybe you could understand that driving with a suspended license is not a charge you give a warning for. If that would have happened and had you been hit by one of those drivers, then I'm sure you would be back on here complaining because the police did not do their job and get those people off the streets. Quit trying to make excuses for something you know nothing about.

#4.1.1.1 Cevin on 03/03/09 at 05:44 PM [Reply]

Reply to Steve: "One being for K-9 officers so the tint will help keep the car cooler for the dogs, and another reason is so agencies can keep their cars cooler for all of the electronics in their vehicles, mainly computers."...This is where above the law comes into play. Do citizen not own dogs? Do we not have computers and/or sensetive equipment that needs shade? Don't get me wrong. I want you to do your job. Just get the people that break the law. All I was saying is that once you find out the person is not purposely breaking the law to give them a break. Pendergrass, you can admit, are bored out of their heads and are looking for stuff. When fee income from citation are greater then property taxes, then we need to think about it. Really...they only have a 3 mile stretch of HWY 129. Lets remember police are there to "Protect and Serve".Not to do stings to ticket people without moving over....hahaha....Get real. Be a real cop and get in the line of fire, not cars!

#4.1.1.1.1 Oldschool65 on 03/12/09 at 12:23 PM [Reply]

Wow, Cevin, you are so ignorant. By your statements, you must be wanted by law enforcement. I am not a cop and I know that a dark window tint is a danger for law enforcement. They do need to see inside of vehicles for their safety. They also can prevent kidnapping, between other crimes. If you are worried about a Taser or a gun pointed at you, maybe you should stop being a criminal, because that's the only way it would happen. Stopping cars is the best way to apprehend criminals and drugs. Your ignorance amazes me, comparing window tint with blinds at home. Maybe you don't need to drive, just walk, and above all, don't let your criminal history speak. I agree with giving warnings for minor violations, but the above charges do not honor warnings. Why don't you get your license reinstated, take care of your warrants and make your car legal? Stop with your ignorant comments. You would have a point if you talked about writing tickets for revenue purposes, which we all know happens there and in another small city in Jackson County.

#4.2 Are You Kidding? on 03/03/09 at 12:03 PM [Reply]

First Steve, I will start this by saying that I have NEVER been pulled over, NEVER been arrested so please don't be upset that my "pie hole" is opening due to your statement. Answer: Pendergrass Police Officers are hypocrites. Not about your tint issue, we all know that they are exempt from this because of how "safe" blacked out windows are for the officer. I mean if you take the "safety" of the once in a career bad guy with a gun looking to see who's in that patrol car and match that with the common sense of reduced visibility out of the rear and side windows doing things like backing up, looking in your mirrors, etc I'm sure there is a HUGE payoff in "safety". The Pendergrass Police Department IS harassing the public. Do you not read the paper? Did you not hear about their little "sting" operation where they set a truck on the bypass with one of their officers "writing a ticket" then went and pulled over cars that didn't move over? Did you know that all the people that were at city court talked and found out that the truck was placed there by the police SO THEY COULD WRITE CITIZENS FOR FAILURE TO MOVE OVER? How safe is that? A police officer is in danger of being hit on every traffic stop and these idiots are sitting there for HOURS on the bypass waiting to ticket people who could not get over for not getting over. How about the time they wrote that little old lady from Talmo for "failure to dim high beams" because the officer was on the southbound side with no lights on while she drove north on the bypass home from church at night with her brights on! Let's not forget the torn mud flap violations, or tire stem caps missing that makes the driver guilty of "operating an unsafe or ill-equipped vehicle". And last but not least, how about the infamous DWH, which is "Driving While Hispanic", that is DEFINATELY a reason to pull someone over, but I digress... Back to hypocrisy, how many times have you seen a police officer speed? No lights or siren going, just driving 80 in a 45. And don't tell me he's going to a call, a Pendergrass car is NOT going to a call driving away from Pendergrass in Gwinnett County. I am certain Gwinnett doesn't need help from PPD. The same is true about them riding in the HOV lanes alone. Don't think that the HOV lane has a stipulation for police for their "safety" like the tint law does. That same officer would pull you over for speeding though wouldn't he? A fireman lives in my neighborhood, they go after someone for burning trash or burning anything during the burn ban each summer, but I've never noticed him burning his trash in his yard. It's called integrity. There are great police officers out there that do their jobs to the best of their ability, and then there is Pendergrass PD. It is a shame that they smear the good name of police officers everywhere. Ok Steve let me have it!

#4.2.1 Steve on 03/03/09 at 04:08 PM [Reply]

As far as your complaints against the Pendergrass Police Dept., I do not question, as I do not live in Pendergrass or Jackson Co. for that matter, nor do I read about what they do every week. Cevin asked a general question about window tint and the police, and I gave him my answer. PPD may be hypocrites and they may harass the public, I do not know, but I do know the answer to the question he asked. As far as the sting operation, police do it everyday. This is a common practice among all law enforcement agencies. If this sting operation saves an officers life one day, then in my opinion it was well worth it. The Georgia State Patrol recently did this same type of "sting" on Hwy. 316. They also did the Rolling Thunder "sting", check out onlineathens 10/12/2008 for info, on the same highway with other agencies joining. What it sounds like you have in Pendergrass is a proactive police dept. that is doing their job in enforcing the state laws. But I also agree that if they are going to enforce traffic laws, then they should abide by them as well. This goes for any agency.

#4.2.1.1 JAUTRY on 06/23/09 at 05:20 PM [Reply]

No Steve, I beg to differ. "ALL" agencies deffinately do not employ this practice!

#5 Timmy on 03/09/09 at 02:01 PM [Reply]

I've met some of the Pendergrass police. They are nice folks. They are crooked though.

Nice and crooked.

They charge like $700 to $800 for window tint violation.

One of my Hispanic friends got pulled over for window tint and they took him to the Pendergrass Police Dept. and told him he had two hours and ticking to come up with $700 or they would send him to the "big jail" as they put it.

Intimidation and fear = Revenue

Totally sickening these folks are. But they are nice....yeah!!!

Where's the GBI? They seem to only investigate Jefferson PD all the time.
.

#5.1 Jackie on 06/24/09 at 06:23 PM [Reply]

First of all my soon to be ex husband got pulled over for window tint and the fine was $194. Not the $700 or $800 you are talking about. They gave him a ticket and sent him on his way. He removed the window tint and paid the court cost which were around $35 if I remember correctly, and they dropped it. Never was he threatened with jail. I am sick and tired of everyone bringing race into every aspects of our lives. The laws are set into place for a reason. If you don't want a ticket abide by the laws. In case you don't know, when they get behind you and run your tag number all your personal information pops up. So if they see something there then they are within their rights to pull you over. As a matter of fact we all know that many not all hispanics are unlicensed. Probably because a good portion of them are ILLEGAL. This I have experienced first hand because I work with the public and see how many cannot speak a lick of English. I have no desire to change the language i speak just to communicate with them, and no I AM NOT RACIST at all. But in 2005 when I was 36 weeks pregnant with my youngest son, an unlicensed hispanic lady that spoke Zero English pulled right in front of my car after she stopped, and I wasn't far away. Caused me to bang my head, and sprain my wrist. I had t spend a night in the hospital. My then four year old son received a massive black eye from his face hitting his car seat. Yes they were properly restrained in their carseats. This is probably the reason my 2 year old daughter escaped injury free.

SO YES I AM SUPPORTIVE FOR THE POLICE TO REMOVE ALL UNLICENSED DRIVERS FROM THE STREETS REGARDLESS OF RACE.

Thank you!!!

#5.1.1 JAUTRY on 06/25/09 at 02:18 PM [Reply]

Jackie, I think 99.99% of the people will agree with you. There is, however a right and wrong way to do everything. A police officer can't get behind you and run your personal information just because he feels like it. That is against the law. You have to give him a reason to stop you or run your info, unless you are in a road block/check. It's called probable cause and it's a very important tool for protecting people from harassment. Appearances are that PPD are targeting a certain group and are using petty excuses to facilitate this targeting. I believe that's what the other guys in this blog are trying to say.

#6 ill informed on 06/26/09 at 11:08 AM [Reply]

JAUTRY, its obvious when you know what you are talking about and when you dont. It's not illegal to run a person's information while you are behind them. For instance, the City of Lawrenceville now employs license plate recognition equipment that automatically reads the license plate of the vehicle infront of their patrol car and checks the registered owner's information. It is not an "intrusive" search to run a persons license info. Last time I checked, everyone that got their license freely gave their information to the government anyways....

It's obvious that you either do not understand the "system" and how it works or you just despise it so much that you make such statements that just continue to pass on bad information to the public.

The bottom line is that you shouldnt blame any agnecy be it JPD,PPD,APD,CPD,BPD,or HPD for doing their jobs. Keep in mind that its never the citizens who are obeying the law that complain on these forums. And I say more power to them! As long as they are getting law breakers off the streets then they are doing their jobs. Or would you rather all the PD folks go sit under a shade tree and watch a DVD like Stans folks LMAO!!!

Oh and in response to your other spattering of bad information in comment 3.1.1.1

Once again you shouldnt make statements on here if you dont understand what LEGAL AUTHORITY is. there are three types:

1 Consentual Encounter
2 Articuable Reasonable Suspicion (and is defined based upon factors which would cause an OFFICER...not the public to suspect that a crime is in progress,or is about to be committed)Examples of which would be time of day, location, criminal stats for that area and or person ..etc

An officer does not need probable cause to stop a person. ARS is sufficient.

3 Probable Cause (an officer reasonably believes that a crime HAS been committed)

soooooooo......enjoy and I look forward to your next release of bad information.

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Pendergrass arrests eight over week

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