2020 halted plenty of activities, but criminal activity wasn’t one of them. From a busted bail-out to an Elk River retrieval and even a man choking on the meth bag he was trying to hide from cops, there were plenty of surprising and odd arrests in Limestone County this year.

In fact, it was only a few days into the year when a theft suspect was caught trying to smuggle drugs into Limestone County Jail. Joshua James Montgomery, 32, was arrested on a charge of first-degree theft of property in Athens, and after being taken by Athens Police to the county jail, a corrections officer noticed pills protruding from Montgomery’s rectum.

A second bag, this time with marijuana inside, was also found, according to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office. Montgomery was charged with possession of a controlled substance and second-degree promoting prison contraband.

A few months later, a sheriff’s investigator had to call an ambulance during a traffic stop in a church parking lot after he discovered 55-year-old Donald Joseph Key choking on a bag of methamphetamine he had been trying to hide from the officer. Key survived the incident and was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with physical evidence after a search of his vehicle revealed an additional 10 grams of meth, a “meth pipe” and digital scales.

Key also had outstanding warrants for attempting to elude law enforcement and probation violation on a previous conviction for manufacturing a controlled substance.

That same month, another man in his 50s was arrested after he pretended to be a wrecker company employee and requested sex in exchange for a woman’s impounded vehicle. The woman told deputies she had tried to look up the real employee on Facebook and messaged an account with the same name.

Not realizing she was talking to 52-year-old Jimmy Darrell King, she asked what it would take to get her car out of impound. King asked for sex and money, for which he was later arrested and charged with one count prostitution.

Crime didn’t just stick to land this year, either, as deputies found themselves fishing a man from the Elk River in September after a high-speed chase. Chad DeWayne Green, 51, led troopers and deputies at more than 100 mph through Clements, at one point heading toward Lauderdale County but reappearing in Limestone.

Green wrecked his vehicle, took off on foot and tried to avoid officers by swimming the Elk River. He eventually found a spot where he could stand and waited there until LCSO arrived by boat to retrieve him.

No bond was set for Green because he had outstanding warrants, but bond was set for 33-year-old Jesse Johnson — and an attempt to pay it led to new charges for him and his then-girlfriend, 27-year-old Mariah Cook.

Cook arrived at the Limestone County Jail in a van that LCSO investigators recognized as one connected to multiple burglaries. Additionally, it had a switched license plate on it and three other license plates — including one that had been reported stolen — inside.

Also inside were drugs, counterfeit bills, drug paraphernalia and a rifle — all in plain view, according to LCSO. Cook allegedly told investigators the van belonged to Johnson, and further discussion led to evidence of more stolen items.

Cook was charged with possession of a controlled substance. In addition to the first-degree receiving stolen property charge for which Johnson was originally arrested, he was charged with first-degree possession of a forged instrument, third-degree burglary, two counts first-degree theft and multiple counts breaking and entering vehicles.

Not above the law

Multiple former officials also found their names in the crime reports this year, including one accused of threatening a woman in the comments of a post on The News Courier’s Facebook page.

The woman said she was conversing with an account using the name “Randall Carson.” At one point, the account posted a comment asking to meet the woman at the sheriff’s office. When she didn’t show, the account posted pictures of the office parking lot in the thread and of actor Redd Foxx holding up a fist with a gun on his shoulder.

Using the photos and security footage at the sheriff’s office, LCSO determined Jackie Mark Yarbrough, a former Limestone County Commission chairman, to be the person behind the account. On the Carson account, Yarbrough had listed the United States Social Security Administration as Carson’s employer, landing him a criminal impersonation charge on top of a charge for harassing communications. He was arrested in February.

In October, a former assistant director of the Limestone County Community Corrections Program was also arrested, this time for allegedly using his job to solicit sex from three participants in the program. James Michael “Mike” Hardaway, 61, was indicted on three counts of custodial sexual misconduct and three counts of prohibited acts of custodial sexual misconduct. He retired from Limestone County in October 2019.

However, it was Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely and former judge Douglas Patterson that seemed to dominate the headlines this year. Blakely was indicted in August 2019 on 13 theft and ethics charges, and while the public awaited his March trial, the coronavirus pandemic had other plans. A new trial date has been set for March 29, 2021.

Meanwhile, Patterson avoided trial by pleading guilty during a hearing in late October. He detailed his crimes, including thefts from an elderly veteran and the Limestone County Juvenile Court Services Fund, as part of his plea agreement before being sentenced to at least four years in prison and $72,822.77 in restitution.