Joseph Nelson

Name:
Nelson, Joseph Michael

Date of Booking:
07/12/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED OR REVOKED

TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE – MISDEMEANOR

MARIJUANA-POSSESS LESS THAN 1 OZ.

PUBLIC INDECENCY

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

INITIAL OBSERVATION AND TRAFFIC STOP:

On July 12th, 2026, I was patrolling along Colonial Way, approaching the intersection with Colony Terrace, when I observed a black Honda Odyssey bearing Georgia tag [REDACTED] turn right off Colonial Way onto Colony Terrace without signaling. Additionally, while making the turn, the driver failed to maintain their lane and began driving up the left side of the road. I initiated my emergency lights and siren, and the Odyssey pulled into the front yard of [SINGLE DIGIT BLOCK] Colonial Way.

CONTACT WITH THE DRIVER:

I made contact with the driver, later identified as Joseph Nelson. Mr. Nelson admitted that he did not live at this address and that his driver’s license was suspended.

I asked Mr. Nelson to step out of the vehicle. As he did so, he reached toward his right hip. I grabbed his hands and instructed him not to reach. For officer safety, I conducted a Terry pat-down but did not feel anything that may have been a weapon. I then had Mr. Nelson sit on the hood of my patrol vehicle while I ran him through GCIC/NCIC, which confirmed that his license was suspended.

While I was conducting this check, I observed Mr. Nelson again digging underneath his pants on the right side of his hip. I confronted Mr. Nelson a second time regarding what he was doing. He stated that he needed to urinate, and then removed his pe*is from his shorts, exposing himself to me and to the rest of the front yard. I believed this was an attempted diversion to conceal contraband. I checked again but did not locate anything.

ARREST:

After confirming through GCIC/NCIC that the suspension was valid, I handcuffed Mr. Nelson behind his back, checked the cuffs for fit, and double-locked them. I informed him that he was under arrest for Driving While License Suspended and conducted a search of his person. I did not locate any contraband at that time.

ASSISTING OFFICERS AND EVIDENCE RECOVERED:

Officer Kaiser arrived on scene to assist. He located a pack of cigarette rolling paper on the ground, which contained 5 pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes containing a total of 4.4 grams of a green leafy substance. Officer Kaiser located this on the driveway of [SINGLE DIGIT BLOCK] Colony Terrace, just behind my patrol vehicle, placing it approximately a vehicle length and a half from the offender’s vehicle. I would later review my dash camera footage and confirm that Mr. Nelson threw this item out of the vehicle while we were driving up the driveway.

Officer Henderson arrived on scene and deployed his canine to Mr. Nelson’s vehicle. The canine gave a positive alert. Officer Kaiser and Officer Henderson both searched the vehicle but did not locate any contraband. Ms. Sue Nelson advised me to leave the vehicle in place with the keys in the driver’s seat.

TRANSPORT TO GLYNN COUNTY JAIL:

I transported Mr. Nelson to the Glynn County Jail for Driving While License Suspended, Possession of Marijuana Less Than an Ounce, Tampering with Evidence, and Public Indecency. Upon arriving at the jail, I handed him directly to the jail staff to be searched, as I was still concerned that he was concealing something on his person.

While I was writing a traffic citation for the suspended license, I heard the jail staff begin to raise their voices at Mr. Nelson, and I heard him fumbling with his belt. When I came around the corner, I saw Mr. Nelson quickly reach downward and then bring his hand up toward his face and mouth. A deputy advised me that Mr. Nelson had just swallowed something and that they were able to see him chewing. Staff reviewed the footage and stated that he had dropped something during the search, covered it with his foot, and then placed it in his mouth. Jail staff requested that Mr. Nelson receive medical clearance and would not accept custody of him otherwise.

TRANSPORT TO HOSPITAL:

I transported Mr. Nelson to the Glynn County Hospital, where I was relieved by Officer Lund. There were no further incidents. Officer Lund completed the transport and transferred custody of Mr. Nelson to the Glynn County Jail.

EVIDENCE HANDLING:

Officer Henderson removed the marijuana from the scene of the stop and submitted it to the evidence locker on my behalf. I returned to headquarters and submitted three warrants.

PROBABLE CAUSE AND CHARGES:

Possession of Marijuana Less Than an Ounce under OCGA 16-13-2b: This charge is based on the 4.4 grams of marijuana recovered from the driveway of 8 Colony Terrace. My front dash camera captured Mr. Nelson throwing the marijuana out of the vehicle as we approached up the driveway.

Tampering with Evidence under OCGA 16-10-94: This charge is based on the act of Mr. Nelson throwing the marijuana out of the vehicle in an attempt to dispose of evidence. This act was captured on my front dash camera.

Public Indecency under OCGA 16-6-8: This charge is based on Mr. Nelson exposing his penis in the front yard of a residence, which was within public view. Mr. Nelson had already confirmed that this was not his residence and that he did not know the residents of the house we were at. This act was recorded on my body camera.

Driving While License Suspended under OCGA 40-5-121: GCIC/NCIC confirmed that Mr. Nelson’s license was suspended. Additionally, his admission that his license was suspended when I asked for his license confirmed that he was aware his license was suspended at the time of the stop.

EVIDENCE AND ARREST:

I handcuffed Mr. Nelson behind his back, checked the cuffs for fit, and double-locked them. I searched his person and did not locate any contraband at the scene. I transported Mr. Nelson to the Glynn County Hospital, where I was relieved by Officer Lund, who completed the transport and transferred custody to the Glynn County Jail.

Officer Henderson submitted the 4.4 grams of marijuana to the evidence locker on my behalf. A citation was submitted for the suspended license offense and handed over to the jail. Warrants were submitted for Possession of Marijuana Less Than an Ounce, Tampering with Evidence, and Public Indecency.

[End of Narrative]