By Joe Johnson
A shooting investigation in west Athens Monday night resulted in the arrest of an alleged drug trafficker, Athens-Clarke County police said.
Officers responded to a 10 p.m. report of a shooting at Columbia Brookside apartments off Hawthorne Avenue and upon arrival a witness told them the suspect was a black male wearing a white T-shirt who was last seen in the area of Brooklyn Road, according to police.
One of the responding officers made contact with 31-year-old Darryl Henry Howard at Divine Tires, where Brooklyn Road turns into Hawthorne Extension, police said. The Danielsville Road resident was said by police to be wearing a white T-shirt.
A Central Communications officer advised that there was an outstanding warrant for Howard’s arrest on probation violation. He was on probation for previously being convicted of possession of marijuana and cocaine with the intent to distribute, according to police.
When informed of the warrant, Howard took off running back toward Columbia Brookside when Officer Torie Teets warned Howard that she would deploy her Taser if he didn’t stop, at which time Howard laid on the ground and was handcuffed, police said.
When searched, Howard was found to have more than $6,000 cash and two cellphones, according to police. A search of a rental car at the tire store, which had Howard’s driver’s license in it, yielded more cash, heroin, crack cocaine, a male enhancement pill, another cellphone, and a digital scale with an excessive amount of white powdery residue on it, and multiple small baggies, according to police.
In addition to being served with the probation violation warrant, Howard was charged with trafficking illegal drugs, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, police said.
An investigation by the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force was continuing.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Howard was being held at the county jail without bail being set.
A police report of the incident made no mention about the source of the gunfire that initiated Monday night's investigation.
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