Cory Mitchem

Name:
Mitchem, Cory Alan

Date of Booking:
07/11/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
DUI-REFUSAL

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.]

On Saturday, July 11th, 2026 at approximately 9:29 p.m., Monroe County Dispatch advised deputies that they had received a call reporting a suspected individual driving under the influence. The suspect was described as a white heavy set male driving a white Chevy pickup displaying Georgia Tag [REDACTED]. The complainant stated the male was driving recklessly on High Falls Road, had pulled over into the gravel lot next to Buck Creek Road and was appearing to be stumbling. I, Corporal Sammons responded to the area. While en route, dispatch advised that the male had gotten back into his truck and now pulled into the Falls View Market.

I found the truck described in the BP gas station parking lot. As soon as I pulled into the lot, the vehicle was placed in reverse and began to leave. The vehicle appeared to be attempting to put distance between himself and I by driving through the gas pumps that had vehicle’s parked there. I followed the vehicle through and conducted a traffic stop by activating my emergency lights.

I made contact with the driver who was later identified as Cory Mitchem by his Georgia Driver’s license. I immediately noticed Mitchem’s license displayed a Locust Grove address but his tag displayed a Monroe County sticker. When I questioned Mitchem about this, he giggled about this which I noted as unusual considering there was nothing comical about this question. I also began to notice the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside of the vehicle while Mitchem was speaking. Mitchem’s speech appeared to be slurred and he was having difficulty answering simple questions.

I asked Mitchem where he worked as he stated his job required him to live within 90 miles of it and he began to explain what he did at the company very vaguely without actually answering my question of what the company did. Once he finished rambling about being a recruiter for the company, I asked Mitchem how much he had had to drink tonight and he replied “um, none.” I then asked Mitchem if he took any medication and he stated just ibuprofen for his back. I asked Mitchem if it was like a prescription medication to which he replied ” woah woah woah woah wait I don’t do drugs.” While speaking with Mitchem, I was shining my flashlight down at his passenger seat and he began to squint while trying to block the light with his hand. I do this exact style approach daily and almost every driver I encounter has no issue with my flashlight. At this point, I requested Mitchem to exit the vehicle and speak with Deputy Yeager while I ran his license.

While seated in my car, I saw Mitchem have trouble walking to the back of his truck where he almost immediately chose to lean against it instead of standing. I exited my vehicle, spoke with Deputy Yeager who confirmed he smelt alcohol coming from Mitchem as well and requested him to walk to us. Mitchem began to walk to us and came to a position inside of our personal space. Mitchem appeared to be leaning towards me while speaking very closely to me from such distance that would make most people uncomfortable. At this point, I noticed Mitchem’s eyes appeared to be glassy, watery and bloodshot. I again asked Mitchem if he had consumed any alcohol tonight and he stated no. I asked Mitchem why did we both smell it coming from him and he said “I mean, you saw it. I have alcohol in my truck but I didn’t drink it.”

I informed Mitchem the reason I was speaking to him in the first place was that someone called in saying he was driving reckless and stumbling outside of his truck. While I was explaining this he kept asking who and trying to talk while I was speaking. Mitchem stated that made no sense because he only made one stop to buy some chips and I was fishing. I asked Mitchem if he would complete some field sobriety exercise for me and he replied “are you asking or telling?” I informed him I was requesting him to and he said “he would take his license and go home.” Mitchem eventually stated he would do whatever I wanted him to do.

I began asking Mitchem medical exception questions for standardized field sobriety. I asked Mitchem if he had any problems with his eyes and he replied “I do have problems with my eyes that’s why I’m wearing glasses, try them on” while removing his glasses and handing them to me. I asked Mitchem if he had any resting nystagmus to which he replied “I have all that. I asked Mitchem if he had any recent head injuries to which he replied “I play sports”. I asked Mitchem is that a yes or no? He stated yes and when I asked him what happened to him he replied “sports”. I asked him what actually happened to him and he stated “who knows?” Mitchem eventually came to the conclusion that he had received many head injuries with the last one being a couple of weeks ago. I requested Mitchem to provide a portal breathe sample to which he agreed. Mitchem had a lot of difficulty providing this sample but finally gave a successful sample that yielded a high positive for the presence of alcohol. After the PBT sample, I again asked Mitchem if he was saying if he had not had any alcohol today to which he stated he had some but not the limit.

At this point Deputy Yeager and I, placed Mitchem in handcuffs to the rear. Due to Mitchem being overweight, he was placed in two set of handcuffs that were only able to be locked to the first click of the mechanism. Both handcuffs were double locked and Deputy Yeager asked Mitchem if they were alright and not hurting him to which he replied they were okay. Mitchem was escorted to the rear of my patrol car where he resisted to get into the car while stating he was compliant.

Inside of Mitchem’s truck, I located an open IPA beer can that was almost completely empty in the back floorboard that was still cool to the touch. There were multiple cases of different style beer to include THC infused beer. I also located a psilocybin mushroom candy bar in the back floor board. In the center console a small flask was almost empty which smelt of alcohol as well.

Mitchem was read Georgia’s Implied Consent Notice for Suspects aged 21 or over to which he refused. Mitchem became increasingly belligerent and argumentative while waiting for the tow truck. Once another Deputy was back on scene, I transported Mitchem to the Monroe County jail for further booking. The vehicle was removed by Comer Towing.

While on the way to the jail, Mitchem continued to compliment me, insult me, be argumentative and appear to be attempting to get some kind of negative response from me. Once at the jail, Mitchem continued to be argumentative and disrespectful to jail staff and myself to the point his booking sheet could not be complete. Mitchem was issued a citation for driving under the influence refusal. Mitchem had no criminal or driver’s history to attach to this report.

[End of Narrative]