A Cedartown man was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Tuesday night after police searched his vehicle and found an assault rifle and handgun in the trunk, per Polk County Police reports.
Officers stopped Mario Markevius Hall, 34, of 128 Central St., Cedartown for a broken tag light on his 2012 Cadillac CTS after he was spotted leaving the McDonald’s on Main Street around 10:30 p.m. on June 1.
Police reports stated they followed the vehicle to the Smart Mart Convenience Center on Highway 27, and it finally stopped for officers on Roberts Road.
Officers during their initial interaction with Hall reported the believed they smelled marijuana in the car, but none was found after K-9 Nero made a search of the vehicle based on their belief they smelled the drug in the car.
During the search, Hall became increasingly nervous and told officers he was having issues with asthma. Several of Hall’s family members also arrived on the scene and “began to crowd us while the search was still being conducted,” reports stated.
While looking through the trunk – which Hall didn’t want to let officers into at first – police found a Smith and Wesson handgun with a 30-round magazine, along with a Diamond Back AR-15 rifle with a drum-style magazine.
Hall claimed the weapons didn’t belong to him, and that he was allowed to have them in the vehicle. However, police determined through checks made by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office that Hall was a convicted felon and not allowed to own a firearm of any kind.
Police took Hall into custody without further incident and transported him to jail. His car was turned over to another licensed driver on the scene.
Hall remained in the Polk County Jail with no bond set on charges of tag lights required, possession of a firearm by convicted felon or first offender, and a hold for a probation warrant.
