By Joe Johnson
An officer checking out a suspicious car Saturday ended up arresting a passenger who was an admitted former member of the Gangster Disciples street gang who had a stolen gun on him, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report.
An officer was patrolling the area of Old Hull Road and North Avenue about 8 a.m. when he saw a car enter the parking lot of the closed Piggly Wiggly parking lot that did not display a tag, according to the report.
While the driver was explaining to the officer that the car belonged to her daughter, who was currently in Florida, the Georgia Crime Information Center informed officers that the passenger’s name was not on file, according to the report.
During questioning, the passenger gave his real name of Jesse Lamaris Cantrell. The 43-year-old Hoyt Street resident told police that he had been in prison for gang-related charges, the report noted.
Even though Cantrell said he once belonged to the Gangster Disciples but no longer associated with the street gang, an officer saw that he displayed a bandana represented the gang’s colors, that according to the report.
When Cantrell told officers that he was under a Fourth Amendment waiver, which allows convicted felons to be searched without probable cause, an officer found him in possession of a fully-loaded .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol that had been reported stolen in Clayton County, the police report stated.
Cantrell was arrested and charged with theft by possession by receiving of stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He was later released from the county jail upon posting good security bonds totaling $3,500, according to the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.
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