A Starkville man is facing nearly 30 felony charges after a Starkville Police Department arrest led to a slew of auto burglary charges from an Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Jonathan Emerson, 24, is facing three charges of possession of schedule II drugs, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana in a vehicle and possession of paraphernalia from Starkville Police Department. He’s facing 25 counts of auto burglary in Oktibbeha County.
Emerson was arrested early Tuesday morning when SPD Officer Parker Madeen saw him swerving in the road while driving on Lynn Lane. Madeen, who testified during Emerson’s Wednesday afternoon initial court appearance, said one of Emerson’s tail lights was out and he initiated the stop.
The suspect admitted after being stopped that he had marijuana in the car, and Madeen said a black bag that officers inspected during the stop also contained cocaine, Adderall and green pills that officers believe may be methamphetamine and have been sent to the crime lab for analysis.
Emerson’s bond was set at $15,000 total for the three felony drug charges.
Emerson’s arrest also allowed OCSO to accelerate an investigation into several reported auto burglaries, most of which had been reported to the department over the weekend.
While OCSO Investigator Rick Sharp didn’t specify locations where all the burglaries happened, many were reported to have occurred at apartment complexes.
“He’s been a suspect in several burglaries for a few weeks,” Sharp said. “From what I understand, the city made a traffic stop. We were watching him and investigating him at the time, and in fact, one of our investigators was on duty at the time. Some of the property from one of our auto burglaries was on hand at the time and has been recovered.”
Sharp said OCSO expects more charges in the investigation.
Emerson’s bond has been set at a total of $625,000 for the auto burglaries. He’s being held in the Oktibbeha County Jail.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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