Dacula Man Fails to Outrun Long Arm of the Law

A Dacula man is facing several charges, including obstruction, after fleeing from police on March 14.

An officer was patrolling the area of West Drowning Creek Road near Tanner Road when he saw a silver Toyota Corolla pass through the intersection without stopping at a stop sign.

Just before the officer activated his blue lights, the Corolla accelerated away from the patrol car and turned into a driveway off West Drowning Creek Road. The driver of the vehicle, later identified as David Spears of 825 Tanner Road in Dacula, exited the car and quickly began walking away from the officer.

In the arrest report, the officer wrote, “The driver was ordered to stop and he turned towards me, but I could see in his eyes he was looking for an exit to flee.”

At that point, Spears allegedly ran across the backyard and jumped a fence. The officer did not pursue Spears over the fence due to “sharp metal cross sections at the top.”

Several other officers responded and attempted to locate Spears, but were unsuccessful.

The officer ran the tag on Spears’ abandoned vehicle and obtained the registered owner’s address. Another officer went to the address and spoke with an occupant who confirmed Spears had left a short time earlier in the Corolla.

The officer called a wrecker to remove Spears’ car from the scene and conducted an inventory of the contents. During the inventory, the officer found two Mason jars. One contained a glass pipe of the type commonly used to smoke marijuana, the other contained marijuana buds. The officer also located a small digital scale in the car that had flakes of marijuana on it.

When the officer went to the jail to obtain warrants for Spears’ arrest, he pulled up a 22-day old booking photo of Spears to confirm that Spears was in fact the man who had just fled. The officer wrote that upon looking at the photograph he “immediately knew the driver of the Corolla was David Spears.”

Before the officer left the jail, he heard another officer announce that Spears had been taken into custody. Once Spears was brought to the jail, the officer confirmed that Spears was the same man who had fled the traffic stop.

Spears was charged with obstruction, possession of marijuana and failure to stop at a stop sign.

Other recent Dacula area incidents investigated by the Gwinnett Police Department include:

March 8

Wanted person located near the intersection of Highway 316 and Winder Highway.

Marijuana possession at the intersection of Hood Road and Rabbit Hill Circle.

Theft by receiving near the intersection of Brookton Lane and Brookton Drive.

March 9

Sexual battery in the 1500 block of Heathermoor Way.

Wanted person located near the intersection of Braselton Highway and Jim Moore Road.

Underage possession of alcohol in the 2600 block of Conifer Green Way.

DUI arrest at the intersection of Hamilton Mill Road and I-85.

Entering auto in the 2100 block of Hamilton Creek Parkway.

March 10

Second degree criminal damage in the 500 block of Chadmon Court Trace.

DUI arrest at the intersection of Braselton Highway and Gravel Springs Road.

March 12

Theft by shoplifting in the 3200 block of Sardis Church Road.

March 13

Residential burglary in the 2700 block of Spence Court.

Entering auto in the 2600 block of Evergreen Eve Crossing.

DUI arrest at the intersection of Lakeside Drive and Winder Highway.