It’s been awhile since there was a bicycle-related traffic stop. That streak, however, has ended. On September 9, 2024 t round 8 p.m., a Douglas police officer noticed two people riding bicycles without lights or reflectors on the West Green Highway near East Walker Street.
According to a report from the Douglas Police Department, the officer identified to two individuals as Jennifer Hodnett and Derrick Smith. He asked if they had anything illegal on them. Hodnett said no. Smith, however, seemed nervous and reluctant to answer the question, the report says. But both Hodnett and Smith gave the officer permission to search them. During the search, the report says, the officer found a Beretta handgun in Smith’s bag.
The officer checked Smith’s criminal history and found that in 2017, he had been convicted for felony theft by taking in Atkinson County. Smith was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and transported to the Coffee County Jail. He was later released.
