BAMBERG – A black Jeep Cherokee speeding along Race Street in Bamberg caught the attention of a Bamberg police officer on patrol on Sept. 27. The vehicle was traveling 40 mph in a 30 mph zone and then turned into Ujima Village Apartments, finally stopping at a dead end, the incident report said.

As officers approached the car, a man fell out of the passenger side onto the pavement, then got up and ran, the report said. Officers ordered the driver to show his hands, step out of the vehicle and lie on the ground, according to the report. A black hat found beside the driver contained a small, white rock substance which was identified as crack cocaine, the report said.

While checking the driver for weapons, officers also found drug paraphernalia, the report said. A strong smell of alcohol prompted officers to conduct a field sobriety test which showed the 38-year-old Elgin man to be under the influence, it was reported. The man was charged with failure to stop for blue lights/siren, driving under the influence and possession of crack cocaine/drug paraphernalia.

In other reports:

* An E-Z Shop No. 3 employee called police after she received threatening phone calls at work, the report said. On Oct. 4, the employee noticed an acquaintance riding through the parking lot as a passenger in a car. Moments later, according to the report, the employee received two phone calls from her acquaintance, whose voice she recognized, using threatening profanity. The subject had been reported by the store employee several weeks earlier for stealing gas from the store, the report said.

* Police charged a 19-year-old Cordova man with faulty equipment (tag light), minor in possession of alcohol and possession of cocaine during a traffic stop on Oct. 5. The man told police, “Y’all scare me,” as he was handing officers his driver’s license with a shaky hand, according to the incident report. As a distinct odor of alcohol was present, police asked the man whether he had been drinking, the report said. The subject admitted to getting alcohol from a Cordova Road store and from his parents’ home, it was reported.

Two passengers in the vehicle, a 19-year-old Orangeburg man and a 16-year-old Orangeburg juvenile, were also tested for alcohol. Both tested positive. The contents of a baggie which fell from the lap of the male passenger was tested for DNA and drug analysis, the report said.

A search of the vehicle turned up four bottles of beer and a bottle of liquor, it was reported. The juvenile was charged with minor in possession of beer.

* An Ehrhardt man was charged with driving under suspension, second offense, after officers with knowledge of the man’s first offense spotted him driving in Bamberg on Oct. 6. The 27-year-old was followed by police as he drove behind a Carlisle Street residence, attempting to hide. The man denied he had been driving the car, saying “a man from Columbia was driving and ran off when officers arrived.” He was arrested.

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