One of two suspects arrested in a March 28 traffic stop was discovered dead in his jail cell Wednesday night.
Marcus Robert Sanders, 51, of Ithaca, N.Y., was found unresponsive in his cell during a routine welfare check, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies and detention officers attempted lifesaving treatment while Whiteville Rescue was en route. He was pronounced dead at Columbus Regional.
Sheriff Bill Rogers said he has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to review the incident.
Reports show that Sanders and Amy Tammelin, both of New York, were arrested at a checkpoint March 28. Cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine were seized in the stop.
The sheriff’s office said deputies were conducting a safety checkpoint at Joe Brown Highway and Hubert White Road when a vehicle approached the officers, stopped, backed into a driveway, then reapproached. Deputies then executed a traffic stop on the vehicle.
Tammelin, 38, was driving, and admitted to deputies that her license was suspended. A records check showed that she was listed as the complainant on a protective order in her home state of New York. Her front seat passenger, Sanders, 51, was the defendant in the protective order. A rear passenger also provided identification, but was not named on the report. All the individuals had suspended licenses, the report said.
Sanders told deputies the location of a drug pipe in the car. When deputies searched for the pipe, they also found multiple packets of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine.
Detention record show Sanders was charged with possession of methamphetamine, trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana, creating counterfeit drugs, and violating a domestic violence protection order. His bond was set at $200,000. He gave his address as Ithaca, N.Y.
Tammelin was held under $75,000 secured bond. Her charges included trafficking in cocaine, possession of meth, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. She gave her address as Newfield, N.Y.
The other passenger was not charged.
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