Hoschton Man Claims Drug Needles Belong to Cousin

A Hoschton man was charged with possession of a schedule II narcotic after the remnants of suspected oxycodone were found in his vehicle.

On Sept. 20, Andrew E. Boknecht, 24, of 4401 Watley Place in Hoschton, and 20-year-old Amber Taylor of 1033 Pine Log Drive in Conyers were travelling northbound on I-85 approximately three miles past the Hamilton Mill exit when an officer noticed the vehicle swerve out of its lane.

The officer activated his emergency equipment and Taylor, who was driving the vehicle, slowed to about 15 miles per hour in the left lane before moving to the right and eventually pulling over in the emergency lane.

Upon making contact with Taylor, the officer asked for her license. Taylor said she did not have it with her. Boknecht then presented his license without being asked.  While speaking with Taylor and Boknecht, the officer noticed a faint odor of marijuana.

The officer asked Boknecht to exit the vehicle. Boknecht said he and Taylor had been in Buford and were on their way to a friend’s house near Chateau Elan. During the conversation, Boknecht reportedly looked at the ground constantly and had noticeably slurred speech. The officer noted Boknecht had several marks on his arms that appeared to be needle marks.

After speaking with Boknecht, the officer conducted standard field sobriety tests on Taylor. According to the police report, Taylor did not show signs of physical impairment. The officer then asked Taylor for permission to search the vehicle. At that point, Taylor said the vehicle belonged to Boknecht.

When asked for permission to search the vehicle, Boknecht declined. When asked if there was a reason why he did not want his vehicle searched, Boknecht reportedly replied, “There are needles in the car from where my cousin does heroin.” When the officer asked where the needles were located, Boknecht advised they were in the pocket of the driver’s side door.

The officer located the needles and a small amount of a leafy green material suspected to be marijuana. The officer also located a spoon with a hard blue substance adhered to it in the driver’s door pocket. The officer believed the substance on the spoon was oxycodone that had been liquefied for injection and had subsequently re-hardened.

Both Taylor and Boknecht claimed not to know who the substance belonged to and denied knowing what the substance was.

The officer placed Boknecht and Taylor under arrest for possession of a controlled substance. After placing Boknecht and Taylor in the back of the patrol car, Boknecht admitted the drugs were his and said Taylor did not need to be charged with it. The officer then informed Taylor she was being charged with failure to maintain lane, driving without her license in possession and driving in violation of the conditions of a Class D license.

Upon reaching the Gwinnett County Detention Center, Taylor informed the officer that she believed the blue substance was Oxycodone HCL 30 mg. The substance has been sent to the GBI for testing.

Also while at the jail, another needle was located. According to the police report, a deputy was searching Boknecht when he noticed a needle on the ground. The needle was identical to the ones found in Boknecht’s vehicle. Boknecht denied that the needle came from him, but no one else was in the vicinity at the time.

Boknecht was charged with possession of a schedule II narcotic. He remains jailed on a $5,700 bond.