Officer Stops to Investigate Parked Car, Arrests Occupants

An early morning patrol in the area of Old Freeman’s Road near Mobley Drive led an officer to the scene of some unlawful behavior.

According to the Gwinnett County Police report, the officer spotted a Ford truck parked alongside Old Freeman's Mill Road while checking the area shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 6. All of the lights on the vehicle were off, but, as the officer approached, two occupants raised their heads “as if they had been lying down on the seat.”

The officer noted that the male driver’s pants had been partially removed.

“I immediately smelled what I thought was an alcoholic beverage and asked what the two were doing,” the officer wrote in the report.

The male reportedly replied that the two were just “hanging out.”

The female, who the report identifies as being three years older than the male, admitted having “a bit” to drink while the male said he had consumed “a couple.” The female showed the officer a bottle of Smirnoff vodka that was behind the seat. Both claimed to have obtained the alcohol from an "unknown person" earlier in the day.

The officer asked the male to step out of the vehicle and then placed him under arrest for underage consumption of alcohol. During a post-arrest search of the male, identified as Travis Burchfield, 17, of Dacula, the officer discovered a small, blue plastic bag in his left front pocket containing green, leafy material, which Burchfield allegedly admitted was marijuana.

The female, identified as Sarah Taffar, 20, of Hoschton, was also arrested for underage consumption. Both she and Burchfield were transported to the Gwinnett County Jail.

The owner of the vehicle was called to retrieve the truck.

You might also be interested in reading:

• Store Employees Reportedly Robbed at Gunpoint
• Cigarette Dispute Leads to Three Arrests
• Customer’s ‘Yapping’ Leads to Armed Confrontation
• Car Wash Vandalism Caught on Video