Juan Merlos-Navarro

Name:
Merlos-Navarro, Juan Jose

Date of Booking:
02/17/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Interference With Government Property, Felony

Disorderly Conduct

Public Drunkenness

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 the listed incident date and time I (Mathis) was patrolling the area of Food Lion parking located at 3925 Cleveland Hwy within the city limits of Varnell when a call for service came across the radio for the Circle K gas station located on the corner in front of the Food Lion.

I responded and arrived on scene and went into the store to make contact with the complaintant/clerk Mr. [WITNESS #1]. As I entered the business I observed Mr. [WITNESS #1] standing in the middle of the store with an unknown male advising the subject to leave the store. As I approached Mr. [WITNESS #1] advised me the male had came into the business and was causing a disturbance and was refusing to leave the premises.

I then made contact with the male subject to speak with him and upon observing his demeanor it was obvious the male was highly intoxicated. As I went to speak with the subject he stepped right up towards me at which point I grabbed the male by his wrist to gain control of him. As I was attempting to gain control of the male he kept attempting to turn towards me and was moving his hands but I was finally able to get a hold of him placing him into handcuffs placing him under arrest. I then checked the handcuffs for proper fit and double locked them.

Officer Williams (v16) and Lt. Small (v13) arrived on scene at that time for assistance. Myself and Officer Williams then escorted the male out of the business and placed him into the rear passenger seat of my patrol vehicle where he was administered an alco sensor and tested positive for alcohol at .203 bac. The male was very boisterous and was calling the officer’s “b*tches” and “dumb as*es” in Spanish and kept spitting in the rear seat of my vehicle.

I then contacted the city of Varnell court clerk who is bilingual in Spanish due to the male not having any identification and she attempted to speak with the subject while on speaker to obtain his name and date of birth but was unsuccessful due to the male’s level of intoxication.

I then transported the male subject to the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Department Jail. While enroute to the jail the male continued cussing, spitting in the rear of my patrol vehicle and also screaming as loud as he could. Upon arrival at the jail I asked for a detention personnel to assist me with the male due to his behavior and intoxication.

Upon entering the jail he was turned over to detention personnel where he was becoming more combative and they had to place him into a padded holding cell. Due to not knowing the subjects name nor having any information on him I was unable to process his charges until he sobered up from the intoxication. I responded back to the jail on the following morning 2/17/2026 around 0730 hrs and made contact with detention personnel. They advised they were finally able to identify the male and he was identified as Juan Jose Merlos-Navarro and his date of birth is [REDACTED].

I then placed charges of public drunkenness and disorderly conduct charges on uniform traffic citiations through the city of Varnell municipal court.

[End of Narrative]