Stargazing lands man in jail

A Flomaton man arrested Dec. 10 on drug charges was back behind bars Christmas Eve when police officers were dispatched to Jordan Road in reference to a suspicious person standing in the middle of the road looking up at the sky.

When police arrived, the suspect, identified as Eric Tyler Mathis, 24, fled officers and was found several hours later inside the bathroom at McDonald's on Highway 113.

Flomaton Police Chief Chance Thompson said police received the call of the suspicious person standing in the middle of the road. When an officer arrived and asked Mathis what he was doing, he replied he was just walking down the road. When the officer opened the door of his patrol car, Mathis ran.

He said officers chased Mathis for about two hours in the Jordan Road area and caught him inside the McDonald's bathroom at 7:58 p.m. and reports noted he appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance.

Thompson said Mathis had warrants for his arrest for violation of probation. He was also charged with public intoxication and attempting to elude police and transported to the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton.

Flomaton police arrested Mathis on Dec. 10 on drug charges after responding to a trespassing call at 1:30 a.m. at Pecan Grove Trailer Park.

When police arrived at the trailer park on Dec. 10 they observed the suspect, identified as Mathis, running and entering a shed in another location at the trailer park.

Officers reported when they found Mathis, he was in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

He was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and transported to the detention center in Brewton. At the time of his Dec. 10 arrest, Mathis also had a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear.

He was released on bond and back in jail on Dec. 24. A check on his current bond status was not available.