Accused Of Stealing Mail, Arrested For Meth Instead: Police

CARTERSVILLE, GA — One half of a couple accused of taking mail from mail boxes was arrested instead for meth possession, according to authorities.

Patrick Dooley Jr., 47, was taken into custody Saturday morning after Cartersville police answered a complaint that he and a woman were stealing mail as they walked down a sidewalk near Etowah Drive and Maple Drive.

Dooley told police that he had only “set his drink on top of a mail box to pull his pants up,” according to the incident report. He added that he didn’t have any mail on him, then told officers they could search him.

The Cartersville police officer didn’t find any mail on Dooley. However, he did find a “clear plastic bag with a crystal like substance” that later tested positive for methamphetamine, the report said. That led to Dooley being handcuffed, which he briefly resisted before officers were able to secure him.

Officers then searched Dooley’s backpack, where they found “two loaded syringes with a clear substance,” according to the incident report. After having his Miranda rights read to him, Dooley told officers that the substance in the syringes was indeed meth.

As of Monday afternoon, Dooley was being held in the Bartow County jail on one felony count of meth possession, as well as misdemeanor charges for possession and use of drug-related objects and obstruction of a law-enforcement officer.