A pair of criminal sentences formerly handed down by the Covington County

Circuit Court were affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court of Alabama on August. 30.

A case involving Joshua D. Creech was affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

According to Chief Assistant District Attorney Greg Gambril, the case involving Creech, which occurred in October of 2000 and went to trial on Aug. 24 of last year, involved former Opp Police Department deputy Greg Jackson, who is now with the Covington County Sheriff's Department.

Jackson was on an afternoon patrol when he saw a vehicle drive by, and the person driving was someone he apparently knew did not have a driver's license.

He verified the information about the driver's license with the police department, and as he pursued the vehicle, he saw a passenger throw something out of the window.

Jackson called for a backup, and another officer found a large glass vial with methamphetamine residue. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a cap which also had an amount of methamphetamine residue. The cap apparently matched the vial which

was thrown out of the window. The cap was allegedly found on the driver's side of the vehicle.

Both the driver, Tracy Joann Pierce, and the passenger of the car, Creech, were charged with possession of a controlled substance, with Creech appealing the sentence.

An appeal is still pending for Pierce.

The case involving Hunt, which occurred in July of 2000, involved a patrol officer in Opp, who observed someone driving a pickup truck near a closed business where there had been a rash of criminal mischief incidents.

Upon stopping the vehicle in question, the officer observed a plastic jug in the vehicle containing methamphetamine oil.

An officer received consent to search the vehicle led to more items of drug paraphernalia being discovered in the car.

Gambril said there was a suppressed motion

where Judge Lex Short ruled that the evidence in the case would be admissible.

The defendant appealed the ruling and the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed Short's ruling.