Note: This story has been updated at 11:17 a.m. to include additional information about Mr. Pope’s warrant status. -KtE
A Kennesaw man was jailed on drug charges and active warrants for his arrest after his vehicle was stopped after being potentially involved in a Cedartown shooting in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Rockmart Police reported that Marcus Kevin Pope, 27, of 3840 Jiles Road, Kennesaw, was jailed on drug charges just after midnight on Tuesday, May 11.
According to the Rockmart Police’s report about the arrest, the officer was on the lookout for a dark passenger vehicle that may have matched the description of a vehicle believed to be fleeing from the shooting death of Demetrious Brown late Monday night.
When the officer saw a black 2013 Buick Regal pass him heading eastward on Highway 278 and speeding, he began to follow and continued with it as it turned onto Highway 113 North.
Police noticed a tag light wasn’t properly working, and with that pulled the Buick over at Knox Mountain Road to further investigate.
Though the officer realized that the driver didn’t match a possible description of those fleeing from the scene of the shooting, he did make contact with the driver and passenger and requested additional help since the pair in the car seemed “shaky.”
Once the driver rolled the window down all the way, police got a strong whiff of marijuana coming from inside and decided to investigate further.
Four other officers arrived on the scene and took the pair out of the car, and after Pope stepped out of the vehicle the reporting officer stated that he watched Pope reach into his waistband, where ultimately officers found three bags of marijuana in his underwear. Additionally, a bottle of Promethazine VC with Codeine syrup inside was also found, and two large bags of pills suspected initially of being narcotics but turned out to be vitamins.
The driver was released, but not before speaking to Cedartown Police detectives.
Police were informed that Pope had active warrants for his arrest in Franklin County and Hart County, and initially they were requested to hold him for the time being.
A $6,000 bond was set for charges of misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana and Possession of a Schedule V Controlled Substance. He was later released on the bond.
Both Franklin and Hart counties later decided not to come claim Pope from the Polk County Jail due to COVID-19 issues.
