The suspect who crashed a vehicle into a village tree while under the influence of a powerful drug cocktail that included heroin was taken into custody by Lake Orion police on Dec. 29.
‘Obviously this individual could have hurt or killed anyone on the day he was driving under the influence, including himself,? Police Chief Jerry Narsh said.
Operating on a tip, the Lake Orion Police Department took Garnett Hall, 24, into custody at a location in Pontiac. Hall was being sought not only for the July crash, but for another heroin-related infraction in the village earlier that month.
In that case, the heroin was found in Starburst candy wrappers, linking Hall with Chad Benson, the 24-year-old who Lake Orion police busted for heroin in December.
Benson was known to use the candy wrappers for dealing heroin, which police found evidence of after raiding his downtown village apartment on Dec. 8.
Trouble for Hall began in the summer. On July 6, at 7:30 p.m., Lake Orion police responded to a parking complaint regarding a vehicle registered to Hall.
While police were impounding the vehicle, Hall approached the scene, then, seeing they were police, ran from the officers.
Inside the vehicle, police discovered packets in Starburst candy wrappers containing a substance that was later identified as heroin.
The trouble didn’t end there for Hall.
On July 27, he crashed a vehicle head-on into a village tree and tried walking away from the accident.
Police witnessed the whole thing.
Officer Chris Mires stopped Hall and observed ‘gross and extreme intoxication.?
After a roadside investigation, Hall was arrested for operating a vehicle with the presence of drugs. Both heroin and methadone were found in the vehicle.
Hall, as with the previous case, was released while the police waited for blood results from state police crime labs, a necessary step in obtaining an arrest warrant to bring charges and prosecute.
The results took a few months.
‘This arrest underscores the importance and relevance of our state police crime labs to local police departments in any successful arrest and prosecution,? Narsh said. ‘Without the blood results and analysis, we could not have moved forward.?
When the blood results came in, police were able to obtain arrest warrants for both incidents from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
They then caught up with Hall in Pontiac, who was immediately arraigned before Magistrate Clem Waldmann at the 52/3 District Court.
For the July 6 incident, Hall will be charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance, less than 25 grams, a felony that carries four years and/or $25,000. The bond for that charge is set at $5,000 or ten percent.
Hall was charged with that same count for crashing the vehicle into the tree on July 27, as well as two others: operating a vehicle with a suspended license, second offense, a misdemeanor that carries one year and/or $1,000; and operating a vehicle with the presence of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor that carries 93 days in jail and/or a $100-$300 fine.
Hall remains in the Oakland County Jail.
‘This case once again shows the power and the danger of heroin and other drugs to the safety and security of society,? Narsh said. ‘Lake Orion police officers are continuing their investigations and arrests on anyone who uses or possesses this potent and life-threatening drug.?