VAIDEN - Carroll County deputies aimed to catch an alleged drug dealer in action at the Chateau Lounge, but they had to settle for a winning tackle instead.
Deputy Brad Carver made the tackle after Odell "Cookie" Hallmon broke and ran after being confronted by officers at a gasoline station off Mississippi 35 on Vaiden's strip Friday afternoon, said Sheriff Don Gray.
Hallmon, 25, was expected to appear today at a bond hearing. He was jailed at the Carroll-Montgomery Correctional Facility on charges of possession of narcotics with intent to sell.
Officers seized Hallmon's car, about $140, and two containers of crack cocaine estimated by an agent with the narcotics task force as having a street value of $800. A female companion Gray declined to name was detained for questioning.
Hallmon, who gave a McCarley address, was recently released from the Mississippi Department of Corrections, where he served a term for aggravated assault, Gray said.
Sheriff's officers got two tips Friday about Hallmon's alleged illegal drug activities. The latter came from an informant saying Hallmon was at the Chateau Lounge selling drugs.
A narcotics agent and deputies proceeding down Mississippi 35 met Hallmon, whose vehicle was northbound, and noted he pulled into a Shell station. Following him there, some officers entered the station to talk with the suspect.
"He got sort of belligerent," Gray said, "and went outside, saw the other officers, and broke and ran toward the highway. All gave chase, and Deputy Carver tackled him. Odell is a pretty good-sized fella."
