F’ville police also find bulletproof vest, ski mask in car

A routine traffic stop helped Fayetteville police stop an accused drug dealer in his tracks early Sunday morning, police said.

The vehicle, a grey 1985 Chevy Caprice, was initially stopped for weaving by Officer Scott Isreal on North Jeff Davis Drive near Ga. Highway 85, police said. One of the passengers, Clarence Edward Mathis of College Park, had a loaded 9mm pistol magazine in his right front pocket and 17 small plastic bags of marijuana tied to a button on the inside fly of his pants, police said.

Inside the car, police found a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm that had been stolen from Newport News, Va., a .45-cal Ruger handgun and a fully-loaded .45-caliber magazine.

Police also found a red ski mask and a bulletproof vest inside the vehicle.

The bags of marijuana found inside Mathis’s pants were packaged for individual sale, police said.

Mathis, 19, of Buffington Road, College Park, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, carrying a concealed weapon and theft by receiving stolen property.

The driver of the car, John Walton, 20, of Centerview Drive, Duluth, was charged with theft by receiving stolen property, carrying a concealed weapon and a traffic offense. A second passenger, Christopher Stewart, 22, of Pebble Beach Drive, College Park, was charged with theft by receiving stolen property and carrying a concealed weapon.

Police do not know where the trio had come from nor where they were headed to, a spokesperson confirmed Monday. They were arrested without difficulty, police said.

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