Clayton woman charged with selling drugs

From staff reports
Published: May 7, 2008

Two individuals have been arrested on charges of allegedly selling drugs in Eufaula and Clayton.

Barbour County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Jimmy Lee Williams, 39, from Parrish, Fla., and Faith Genevieve Tatum, 31, from Clayton, for allegedly selling crack cocaine and other drugs in the Clayton and Eufaula areas late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. Williams and Tatum were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Ecstasy and OxyContin) and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.

According to a press release from the sheriff’s department, at least two individuals contacted Sheriff Leroy Upshaw and gave him a description of the suspects and their vehicle. Deputies located the vehicle at a Eufaula motel early Wednesday morning and conducted surveillance on the suspect’s vehicle and room for several hours before taking action and making the arrests.

“We had information that they were armed, so we waited until they left the motel in their vehicle before we took any action. We were able to conduct a traffic stop on them immediately after they left and take them into custody without incident,” Upshaw said.

Authorities recovered approximately 2 ounces of crack cocaine, several OxyContin and Ecstasy tablets, drug paraphernalia and a loaded 45-caliber Glock handgun during the arrests.

“We get 90 percent of our drug information from regular citizens and we certainly do appreciate it. They’ve learned that they can trust us and that we’ll do something about it when we receive it,” said Chief Deputy Eddie Ingram.

Both suspects are currently being held in the Barbour County Jail without bond.

“I want to thank the Clayton and Eufaula Police Departments for their assistance and back-up apprehending these two. We’ve got a good working relationship with the city police departments in the county and it’s much more effective when we all work together,” added Upshaw.