Sheila Propp

Fairhope Courier Editor

A routine assignment to pick up two men with active arrest warrants against them turned into a substantial drug bust.

According to Cpl. Craig Sawyer, Fairhope Police Officers Ben Taylor, David Hall, Mandeny Maye and John Morgan went to the area of Ramsey Road and Yelding Lane in Montrose to serve the warrants about 2:35 p.m., Sunday.

Because the officers expected the two men to run when they were approached, Sawyer said two officers approached the area in vehicles and two approached through the woods on foot to cut off a potential escape route.

The officers spotted the two they were seeking, Larry D. Woods Jr., 21, of Daphne, and Justin L. Burden, 18, of Montrose walking on Ramsey Road. The outstanding warrant for Woods was for 2nd-degree possession of marijuana; Burden’s for 3rd-degree domestic violence.

Woods and Burden were accompanied by another man, identified later as Shannon Mikeile Barnes. Sawyer said as the officers approached them, the three men fled on foot. When the officers ordered them to stop, Sawyer said, Barnes reached into a small backpack he was wearing.

He again tried to reach into the bag when officers ordered him to keep his hands in sight. When the officers ordered him to lie on the ground and had restrained him, they found a loaded Firestar 9mm pistol, about 2 pounds, 8 ounces of bagged marijuana and between 150-200 green pills believed to be ecstasy, scales and a grinder.

Barnes, 25, of Montrose, was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, trafficking in cannabis and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Woods and Burden, who Sawyer said, were apprehended at Dale Road, were arrested on their outstanding warrants.

At press time, Barnes remained in the Baldwin County Correction Center on bonds totaling $1,006,500, according to a spokeswoman.

Burden and Woods were taken to the Fairhope jail. Burden's bond was set at $750, and he bonded out, according to Sandra Kelly, municipal court magistrate. She added that because Woods had failed appear twice for the charge on his outstanding warrant, a $1,000 cash bond was set for his release, and at press time, it had not been paid.