Man falls asleep, starts snoring during police traffic stop

Braselton police were told to be on the lookout for a Chevrolet Trailblazer that was driving recklessly on Ga. Hwy. 124. An officer saw the Trailblazer parked at the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 124 and Ga. Hwy. 53, where its driver was standing out of the vehicle talking to the driver of a pickup truck.

The man said he was checking the alignment of his wife’s vehicle, which was making him drive recklessly, according to an incident report. Police said the man’s speech was very slurred, and his pupils were very pinpoint and glassy. An officer said he didn’t smell alcohol on the man.

When questioned by police, the man said he had taken two to three pills each of three medications prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition relating to his back, according to an incident report.

Another officer noticed fresh damage to his vehicle and asked the man if he hit anything. The man said he hit a road sign.
The man was unable to complete a field sobriety test because he appeared too sleepy. An ambulance was called to the scene.

While waiting for the EMS unit, the man almost fell face forward into the ground. He also fell asleep on the bumper of his vehicle and started snoring, according to police.

When the man was placed in an ambulance, he stopped breathing for a few seconds. He was taken to a hospital, where an officer read his Miranda warning to the man and asked him more questions. A blood sample was taken from the man.

The 35-year-old Hoschton driver was issued citations for driving under the influence of drugs and failure to notify owner when striking a fixed object.

Other Incidents
The Braselton Police Department responded to the following incidents last week:
•burglary at a Ga. Hwy. 211 address, where an alarm was sounding at Monterrey Mexican Restaurant. An officer said he discovered that a rear door was unlocked. A computer inside the store was knocked over and the cash drawer was missing. There was no one inside the building. Police noticed that the rear door was pried open and a $20 bill was found on the rear driveway. The suspects cut a phone line from its terminal in an exterior box. An investigator was called to the scene.

•theft by taking at a Reisling Drive address, where a woman said her ex-boyfriend stole an ax, propane heater and rakes from a building on her property. The woman said she is in the process of moving and when she returned to the residence, she noticed a truck rapidly leaving the back yard. The couple lived together and the man was allowed to get his personal belongings.

•theft by taking at an Onley Falls Court address, where a man said the air conditioning units of three houses under construction were stolen. The A/C units were valued at $2,800. Two other A/C units were also stolen in the area.

•damage to property at a Ga. Hwy. 53 address, where a man at the Chevron gas station said while he was traveling on Interstate 85, tire tread from a tractor trailer truck hit his vehicle and damaged the front bumper, right front tire, right front fender and a running board.

Braselton Arrests
The Braselton Police Department made the following arrests last week:
•Samuel Dykes Sheffield, 22, 362 Prestwick Drive, Hoschton, speeding and DUI.

•Mark C. Cofino, 51, 1624 Fort Perry Way, Dacula, driving while license suspended or revoked, removing or affixing a license plate with intent to conceal or misrepresent, using a license plate to conceal or misrepresent the identity of vehicles and obscured tag.

•Freddie Bernard Blackman, 47, 731 Ozburn Road, NW, Atlanta, wanted person apprehended for a warrant issued in Chatham County.