Wrong Way Driver’s Escape Goes Nowhere
Afternoon Incident Results in Six Misdemeanor Charges
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – If it’s your first time to travel to Crockett, it is entirely possible that you may wind up going around the Houston County Courthouse Square the wrong way. You can see it happen on a daily basis. Most of the time, if a motorist is stopped by the Crockett Police Department for this traffic infraction, they are given a warning and the opportunity correct the driving error.
Sometimes, however, other factors come into play during the traffic stop and the driver winds up being taken to jail. Such was the case on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 27 when a woman from Dallas, identified as Qiana Lakeisha Cooper, 24, was stopped by CPD Officer Nicholas Martinez.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, “Cooper was already acting excited/irate as I (Martinez) made contact with her. She began questioning why I made contact with her and stating that police like to mess with people. I then advised her of the reason for the stop. Cooper admitted to going the wrong way and stated she didn’t know where she was because she’s not from around here.”
As Martinez was speaking with Cooper, the affidavit indicated the officer could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When questioned about this, Cooper admitted to recently having had marijuana in the vehicle. She also said she had an open bottle of alcohol in the vehicle.
Because of the marijuana odor and open bottle of alcohol, Martinez requested Cooper to step out of the vehicle so he could conduct a probable cause search. Cooper became belligerent, yelling and cursing at the law enforcement officials on the scene. After she calmed down, Cooper confessed to having taken a shot of alcohol two hours prior to the stop, but insisted she didn’t have any marijuana in the vehicle.
During the search, Martinez found the open container of alcohol, a pipe with marijuana in it and a small pouch of what was believed to be marijuana.
“After the illegal substances were secured, officers attempted to place Cooper into mechanical restraints to detain her. While attempting to restrain her, she began to resist officers by pulling away and backing into oncoming traffic,” the affidavit stated.
Eventually, officers were able to place Cooper in a patrol unit where she began to kick the inside of the back doors. As she was being transported to the Houston County Jail, she continued to kick the doors, causing damage to the top of one.
As Martinez entered the sally port doors “… Cooper slipped her hand restraints, opened my door and attempted to escape. She ran towards an open bay door of the sally port where officers quickly detained her by placing her onto the ground. Once she calmed back down, she was placed onto a (restraint) chair and escorted into the jail.
Cooper was charged two Class A misdemeanors for escape from custody and resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor for possession of marijuana and three Class C misdemeanors for having an open container, possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.
The total bond for Cooper was set at $10,500 and she is still in custody as of press time.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
