Police find 18 guns in trunk of felon’s car
RINGGOLD — A Trion man is behind bars in Catoosa County after 18 guns were found in the trunk of his car during a routine traffic stop, police say. According to the Ringgold police: William Hugh Barbee, 29, of 623 Melba Drive, was arrested Nov. 21 on charges of marijuana possession, loitering and prowling, and 18 counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His bond was set at $48,500.
The discovery of the arsenal occurred a little after 2 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21, after Sgt. Scott Martin observed a vehicle in the parking lot of Price Ringgold Drugs on Nashville Street with faulty taillights, reports show.
Martin said he could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle when he began questioning Barbee, and that Barbee was high-strung at the time.
“When I approached his vehicle, I immediately detected the odor of raw marijuana emitting from the vehicle,” Martin said. “I inquired as to what he was doing behind the drug store at that hour. He advised, very frantically, that some people had been following him earlier.”
Barbee also claimed someone had been prowling around his residence earlier in the night, and that he felt “guys were after him in order to kill him,” reports show.
With probable cause, Martin said he began searching Barbee’s vehicle for the suspected drugs after Catoosa Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene to assist.
After opening up the trunk, Martin found more than a dozen long guns and multiple handguns.
“Without being able to see his trunk or what I was observing, Mr. Barbee made the spontaneous utterance, ‘Those guns ain’t mine,’” Martin said.
Barbee told officers the weapons belonged to his father and that he wasn’t sure who had put them in the trunk.
The breakdown of the guns included 14 long guns (rifles and shotguns), and four pistols or handguns, reports show.
Barbee also finally admitted that he had marijuana inside his pants. Adam Cook, Walker County Messenger
Barrett investigation continues after tip
FORT OGLETHORPE — Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said Monday there were no new developments in the joint investigation of Jim Barrett, president of the Walker County Association of Educators, a social studies teacher at Saddle Ridge Middle school in Rock Spring, and a frequent critic of the school board and Superintendent Damon Raines, by the Sheriff’s Office and Fort Oglethorpe police.
Wilson said, “The investigation is ongoing. I anticipate more facts to be known within a week (hopefully).” He repeated that he could not comment on the specifics of the investigation.
Wilson said last week that his department received a tip that required it to investigate Barrett. A Walker County magistrate then issued a search warrant to search Barrett’s property on campus, including his classroom and vehicle. Wilson said investigators informed the school’s principal, as well as central office staff and members of the school board, before conducting the search of Barrett’s classroom and vehicle on campus.
Fort Oglethorpe Police Department investigators also searched Barrett’s home. Neither department has filed charges, and the sheriff declined to say what specifically investigators were looking for last week.
Superintendent Raines said Nov. 23, that “this investigation is being handled by detectives from Fort Oglethorpe City Police Department and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. Walker County Schools will continue to cooperate with both agencies as this is a law enforcement issue at this time.”