Melissa Samples

Name:
Samples, Melissa

Date of Booking:
07/24/2022

Reason(s) For Booking:
POSSESSION AND USE OF DRUG RELATED OBJECT

POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the officer’s narrative report. We do not fix any spelling or grammatical errors. Any changes made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist.]

[NARRATIVE #1 on July 23, 2022]

On Saturday, 23 July 2022 at approximately 2343 hours, I was on patrol in the area of Cumming Highway just past East Cherokee Drive when I saw a vehicle with no taillights and no license plate turn from Cumming Highway into the parking lot of the Kroger gas station. I made a turn at the next entry way into the parking lot in time to see the vehicle make a left turn behind the McDonalds. I followed behind the vehicle as he drove through the drive-thru lane without stopping. As the vehicle prepared to go back on towards Cumming highway, I activated my emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop.

The vehicle then turned into the Waffle House parking lot and stopped. I approached the vehicle, a 1989 Dodge pick up truck, from the passenger side, introduced myself and asked the driver, later identified as George Cullen Hause, for his driver’s license. George said he did not have his license with him and must have left it at the house. The passenger in the vehicle, later identified as Melissa Marie Samples, provided me with her license.

I saw Melissa’s hands were shaking when she handed me her license and George did not make any eye contact with me as I asked him for his name and date of birth. I told George the vehicle did not have a tag. George told me he had just bought the vehicle and was working on getting the tag. I asked George if he had any documentation showing when he had bought the truck. George said he did not and it must be back at the house with his wallet.

I walked around the driver side of the vehicle in order to get the VIN of the truck. The VIN sticker on the dash of the vehicle appeared faded and scratched and I was unable to read it. Deputy Reece arrived as backup and he was unable to read the VIN as well. I asked George if I could look at the other sticker on the inside of the door and he said no. George kept insisting he was not doing anything wrong and had just driven here from where he and Melissa were staying to grab a bite to eat. I asked George if he would open the door so that I could get the VIN from the inside of the door jam. George refused to open the door.

I asked George if he had anything in the vehicle that he was not supposed to have. George said no. I asked George if he would mind if I looked in the vehicle to confirm there was no contraband. George said he did. I told George I would need to confirm the VIN to make sure the vehicle was registered and had proper insurance. George said he assumed he had insurance as he had just bought the truck and his insurance would cover it. I asked George to exit the vehicle. George rolled the window up on the truck, took the key out of the ignition and placed it in the floorboard, opened the door just enough for him the step out, set the lock on the door and closed it behind him. I had George walk next to my patrol car and Deputy Reece told George he was being detained at this time and placed him in handcuffs.

I walked to the passenger side and asked Melissa to step out of the vehicle. Melissa grabbed her back pack as she tried to exit the vehicle and I asked her to leave everything in the truck. I had Melissa also stand next to my patrol car. Deputy Reece told George that he needed to allow us to open the driver door in order to verify the VIN for the vehicle or he would be placed under arrest for obstruction since he locked the door to prevent us from completing the investigation. George agreed to let us open the door. I unlocked the driver side door from the passenger side and was able to get to the VIN inside the door.

The VIN dis not return from Georgia so we asked dispatch to run the vehicle across all states. While waiting for returns Deputy Reece walked his dog around the vehicle. The K9 alerted to the possibility of drugs in the vehicle. Deputy Reece informed George of the alert and advised he was going to search the vehicle. Deputy Reece found a glass pipe containing methamphetamine residue inside a yellow cloth bag under the passenger seat. There was also a loaded firearm, a Ruger EC9s 9mm handgun found under the driver side seat.

Neither George nor Melissa wanted to claim ownership of the pipe so I explained to them they would both be charged. I read both George and Melissa their Miranda warning and asked each of them if they would speak to me. George agreed and said the pipe did not belong to him. Melissa refused to speak after she was Mirandized. I placed them both under arrest and transported them to the Adult Detention Center and turned them over to intake deputies without incident.

The vehicle was impounded by Daniels’ wrecker service. The firearm was placed into evidence under ECR-22-01563. The pipe was submitted for testing to the GBI

I will be taking warrants against George for: Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of drug related objects, Driving a vehicle without a tag, Driving a vehicle without a valid registration and Driving a vehicle without insurance.

I will be taking a warrant against Melissa for: Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of drug related objects.

Additional charge added due to the possession of a firearm by George.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #2 on July 23, 2022]

On July 23rd, 2022 I backed up Sgt. Rubio on a traffic stop at Waffle house located at 8018 Cumming Hwy. When I arrived Sgt. Rubio informed me he stopped a vehicle that did not have a tag on it and he was trying to read the VIN on the dash.

The driver, George Cullen Hause, could not provide a registration, bill or sale, or proof of insurance for the truck. He advised he bought the truck a week ago but had no paperwork to prove it. We explained to George we needed the VIN to confirm the vehicle was not stolen. I tried to read the VIN off the dash but was not able too due to it being scratched and unreadable.

I told George to get out of the vehicle and he started becoming agitated. We told George we needed to read the VIN off the door and he refused to get out. I opened the door to help him out of the vehicle and as I did he began rolling up the window and locked the door as he stepped out and shut the door. At this point I detained him in handcuffs due to his actions. Sgt. Rubio then asked the passenger, Melissa Samples, to unlock the door and she refused. I then was able to talk Melissa out of the vehicle without issue.

Once both occupants were out of the vehicle we were able to get the VIN off the door panel. George informed me there was a firearm under his seat and gave permission for us to get the gun. Sgt. Rubio removed the firearm from under the seat and began running the VIN. I asked George if he would consent to a search of the vehicle and he said no. At this time I deployed K9 Vader to conduct a free air sniff around the vehicle while waiting on the VIN return and the firearm check.

K9 Vader is a trained narcotics detection dog who is certified through the National Narcotics Detector Dog Association (NNDDA). I began Vader at the front of the vehicle and worked him in a counterclockwise pattern around the vehicle. As we approached the driver side Vader started to enter the vehicle through the open door. I pulled him away and continued around the to the passenger side. As we approached the passenger door Vader’s breathing increased and he entered the truck through the open passenger door. I noticed his breathing increase and he began to push his nose into the passenger seat and detail the area. I noticed the same breathing change on the second pass as well as Vader trying to push his head under the seat.

There was a positive alert to illegal narcotics based on Vader’s breathing and behavior changes. I began searching the vehicle and located a yellow bag with flowers under the seat near the passenger side. Inside the bag was a butane lighters as well as a glass pipe with residue. Based on my training and knowledge I believed this to be a methamphetamine pipe. I did not locate anything else illegal in the vehicle and the evidence was turned over to Sgt. Rubio.

After interviewing both subjects about the pipe it was determined they were both going to be arrested for the meth pipe. Sgt. Rubio transported them to the ADC and I stayed with the vehicle waiting on the wrecker for impounding it. As the truck was being loaded on the wrecker I observed a truck pulling a flatbed trailer pull in the parking lot. A male, identified as [VICTIM #1], walked up to me and said that was his truck and it was stolen from him.

[VICTIM #1] stated the following:

He met Cullen (George) a few weeks ago when he bought a motor from him. Cullen told him he needed a job so [VICTIM #1] offered in a job and place to stay on his farm in Blue Ridge. Cullen worked for [VICTIM #1] building a sawmill and [VICTIM #1] allowed him to stay in one of his campers on the property. [VICTIM #1] noticed Cullen was gone last Sunday and asked some other workers if they had seen him and they had not. [VICTIM #1] then noticed the truck was missing and suspected Cullen stole it.

[VICTIM #1] found Cullen’s phone in the camper he was staying in and texted Cullen’s girlfriend asking where he was and where he truck was. The female responded they were staying at a house behind a cemetery near Hwy 20 near East Cherokee (George and Melissa both told me that’s where they area currently staying). Cullen then texted [VICTIM #1] saying he was sorry for taking the truck and would return it this week. [VICTIM #1] never heard back then got a text tonight saying the truck was at the house behind the cemetery.

[VICTIM #1] decided to just drive a trailer down from Blue Ridge to take his truck back. As he approached the intersection of Hwy 20 and East Cherokee he saw my patrol car and his truck being loaded onto a tow truck.

[VICTIM #1] advised he bought the truck over two years ago from a person in North Carolina and turned it into a farm truck for his 80 acres in Blue Ridge. He never registered it or insured it due to only being driven on his private property and never on the roadway. I explained to him the truck was being impounded by Daniels and he understood.

I informed him he would need to file a report with Fannin County if he wanted to report the struck stolen and pursue charges on Cullen.

[End of Narrative]