Sheriff: SCPU Deputies on Patrol Make Big Drug Busts

Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap says his department's Sheriff's Crime Prevention Unit, comprised of deputies on a special patrol, have recently made two significant drug arrests.

The unit targets drug use and the transportation of narcotics in, through and around Bartow, according to the press release. 

The first arrest happened Friday when an SCPU deputy spotted a silver Volkswagen Jetta on Interstate 75 near Cass-White Road. The car, which was allegedly drifting over several lanes and almost caused an accident, matched a "lookout" 911 dispatchers had issued after other motorists reported the Jetta was driving "all over the roadway."

After interviewing the driver, Keith Talbott, 50, of Kentucky, the deputy requested to search the vehicle, but Talbott refused. The deputy called an Acworth police K-9, which, according to police, indicated illegal drugs were located in the car.

In the trunk, deputies discovered an alleged 8.7 pounds of marijuana.

The second big SCPU arrest was Saturday shortly before 11 p.m. when a deputy spotted a red Chevy S-10 pickup leave the roadway and almost strike a pedestrian on Highway 41 near Main Street in Cartersville, according to the press release.

Police say the driver, Max Maybern, 47, of Willowbend Drive in Cartersville, was under the influence of alcohol and/or other substances and he was arrested. A subsequent search of his vehicle revealed a small bag of suspected marijuana and allegedly more than a pound of methamphetamine.

Both men are in jail awaiting Superior Court bond hearings.

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