According to a Dalton Police Department incident report, On January 17th, 2023, Officer Ridley gave a BOLO in reference to a possibly involved individual, Mark Scott Hopkins, 60, of Dalton, in a theft that was reported this morning. Officer Cook then located Hopkins on a bicycle at the intersection of Chattanooga Ave and Coronet Drive. Officer Ridley arrived on the scene and assisted Officer Cook. Officer Ridley reported, “[I] asked Mark if he had anything he should not have in his bag, and Hopkins hesitated and asked what [I] meant. [I] told Mark that he knew what things he should or should not have and again asked if he had anything in his bag that he should tell us about. Mark then stated that he had a derringer .22 caliber revolver in his backpack. At that time, the bag was at the feet of Mark, so [I] took the bag and placed it out of his reach to ensure the safety of everyone on the scene.” During a consent search of the bag, officers located a meth pipe and a large quantity of marijuana from a tin inside the bag. Mark advised that he was incarcerated for five years in the 1980s for a DUI and fleeing to elude, but all of his charges were misdemeanors, and he had never been convicted of a felony. Officer Ridley felt sure that if Mark had completed five consecutive years incarcerated, then he was probably convicted of a felony. The officer then located a baggie of meth inside a large knife on the side of Mark. Mark was then transported to the Whitfield County Jail for possession of schedule II controlled substances, possession of drug related-objects, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Convicted felon found in possession gun and meth while riding bicycle in Dalton
