Ga. man accused of possession
A Georgia man is behind bars after Butler police say they found him Thursday night with crack cocaine, marijuana and nearly $1,500 in currency.
Leighton U. Ellis-Kerr, 31, of Decatur is facing felony and misdemeanor drug charges. He is in the Butler County Prison on $75,000 bail.
A call just before 9 p.m. for suspected drug activity on Whitmire Avenue led officers to a car, police said. A woman was in the driver's seat and Ellis-Kerr was a passenger.
The “strong odor” of marijuana coming from the car caught the officers' attention, according to court documents.
Police said they recognized Ellis-Kerr from previous incidents. In May, police arrested him for possessing a handgun without a carry license.
He was out on $100,000 bail in that felony unlicensed gun case when he was arrested Thursday.
While at the car, police said, an officer saw what appeared to be three plastic bags containing crack on the passenger floor where Ellis-Kerr was seated.
A search at the scene also turned up a coffee filter with suspected crack in it, and a small bag of suspected marijuana that police allege belonged to the defendant.
The woman who was in the car, documents said, subsequently admitted that she was there “to buy drugs off of (Ellis-Kerr).”
Police took the defendant to the station where they searched him and found $1,488 inside his shorts.
In all, documents said, the suspected crack that was seized weighed 7.3 grams.
District Judge Kevin O'Donnell arraigned Ellis-Kerr on a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and possession of a small amount of marijuana.
