Chocowinity checkpoint catches man wanted on felony charges

Published 5:45 am Tuesday, January 30, 2007

By Staff
Four outstanding warrants served
By CHRISTINA HALE
Staff Writer
A Chocowinity man wanted on felony charges was captured Sunday during a traffic checkpoint on N.C. Highway 33 near Mill Road conducted by the Chocowinity Police Department. At least 20 charges were served in two hours and 30 minutes, said Lt. Larry Quidley, the checkpoint supervisor.
Jonathan James Love, 25, of Chocowinity, was served outstanding warrants charging him with two counts of larceny and two counts of felony breaking and entering, police said. He was also charged with driving while license revoked and failure to appear in court, said Chocowinity Police Chief Todd Alligood.
Love was still in custody Monday afternoon, said a spokesman with the Beaufort County Detention Center. His bond was initially set at $10,000 for the previous charges, Alligood said. Additional bonds totaling $1,500 were tacked onto the most recent charges, he said.
Other outstanding warrants were served during the checkpoint, including a probation violation and an unpaid child support charge, according to a press release.
Alligood said law-enforcement officers try to conduct checkpoints “once a month or one every other month in different locations.”
Other agencies assisted the Chocowinity Police Department, including the N.C. Highway Patrol, Washington Police Department, Belhaven Police Department and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, according to a press release.
Alligood said, “Every car that goes through is stopped.” He estimated that 300 or more cars went through the checkpoint.
There has to be probable cause to make a charge, Alligood said. He said police can smell alcohol coming from the car or on the driver, and some illegal items are left in plain sight.
Two people were charged with driving while impaired, three with no operators licenses, one with driving while license revoked, one with possession of an open container, one with possession of drug paraphernalia, one with simple possession of less than a half ounce of marijuana, one with no insurance, one with fictitious registration plate, five with expired inspections and one with carrying a concealed weapon, according to the Chocowinity Police Department.