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Drug dealers invade PTC cart pathsTue, 08/01/2006 - 4:03pm
By: John Munford
Peachtree City’s cart paths are being used to transport and sell illegal drugs, according to Police Chief James Murray, who is asking citizens to be more alert and report suspicious activity on the paths to police. One cart path drug deal was foiled Saturday evening when a city resident was arrested trying to sell drugs from his golf cart on the path near the Kedron Fieldhouse in the north part of the city, Murray said. Police have also received solid information about other similar incidents that are being investigated, Murray said. Police have stepped up cart path patrols and surveillance, and Murray is fearful that the presence of drug dealers might lead to associated violent crimes such as aggravated assault and armed robbery. Citizens are urged to help by reporting suspicious activity to the department’s tip line at 770-631-2510, he added. “That information might turn out to be the missing piece to the puzzle that we need,” Murray said. In Saturday’s arrest, Randall Adam Phillips, 24, of Santolina Park, Peachtree City, was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of schedule IV narcotics and possession of drug-related objects, police said. Phillips was arrested on a cart path next to Las Brasis Court, and police blocked off both sides of the cart path immediately before the arrest was made to insure the public’s safety, Murray said. “That’s because you don’t know if a drug dealer has a gun or not,” Murray said. Phillips had been under surveillance before the arrest was made, police said. Officers later searched Phillips’s home and found 15 baggies of crystal methamphetamine (with a suspected weight of about 1 gram each) along with some crack cocaine and valium, Murray said. Other arrests are expected, in large part because police also found a list of prospective drug buyers, Murray noted; he is urging those persons to turn themselves in or face arrest. The arrest underscores the fact that there are people who live in Peachtree City and sell drugs here too, Murray said. The department is allocating more of its resources to the cart paths, and several detectives specialize in working drug cases in addition to their other duties, Murray said. Murray encourages citizens to report suspicious behavior on the path system, particularly when the same golf cart or the same persons appear in the same place on the cart path at the same time each day. Citizens should also be on the lookout for golf carts parked in less conspicuous areas on or near the path system, Murray said. Although such information might seem minor, it could help break an ongoing investigation or get one started, even if police don’t initially respond to the scene, Murray said. “We have a good intelligence network, and that’s what actually helps,” Murray said, adding that the department sometimes offers cash rewards to help solve crimes. “Being in the right place at the right time is very important, and you don’t do that by accident.” There was a time when Peachtree City didn’t see many “big-city narcotics,” Murray said. But that has changed with the advent of several arrests in the past year related to crystal meth, and an incident reported last week of a teenager who suffered from what was likely a heroin overdose. login to post comments
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