According to a Floyd County Police Department incident report, On March 10th, 2023, at 11:29 PM, PFC. Sangphim was conducting patrol operations in the area of Dean Ave near it’s intersection with E 19th St. Officer Sangphim reported, “[I] observed a Gold Honda Accord leave the parking lot area of the Sport’s Page Bar. [I] observed the driver and passenger were moving/leaning while the car was in motion when entering Dean Ave. [I] observed that the driver and front seat passenger did not have their seat belts on (possibly attempting to put them on). [I] got behind the vehicle, and the driver quickly went in front of the outbound lane of Dean Ave and made a continuous turn across a turn lane and the oncoming lane and into the parking lot of the Stay Lodge. [I] also observed that the vehicle had a center brake light out. [I] approached the driver and observed that there were three occupants ( front seat and rear seat passenger). “The driver identified himself as Terry Ferguson Jr., 36, the front seat passenger identified himself as Wesley Eugene Self, 38, of Rome, and the rear seat passenger identified himself as James Michael Gray, 22. The officer informed the driver and front seat passenger of the purpose of my traffic stop, and initially, he stated he had his seat belt on the entire time, but later admitted that he was putting it on as they pulled out from the Sports Page onto Dean Ave. The officer informed him that he needed to be properly buckled prior to entering the roadway, and he stated he understood. K-9 Lt. Hover arrived on the scene and began assisting with my traffic stop. According to the report, Officer Sangphim observed that all occupants were extremely nervous. Officer Sangphim reported, “Lt. Hover’s then observed Mr. Self remove a firearm from his person and onto the floorboard of the vehicle. Lt. Hover’s instructed Mr. Self to stop moving, and we instructed all occupants to stop moving. We then extracted each occupant individually and patted them down for weapons. Lt. Hover’s recovered a Black Taurus G3C 9mm Handgun from Mr. Self’s ankle holster and another FDE Taurus G3C 9mm Handgun from the floorboard where Mr. Self had placed it. Mr. Self then stated that he was on probation and a convicted felon.” Self acknowledged that he was not supposed to have a firearm and had never had his rights restored. Self was transported to the Floyd County Jail, where he was charged with seatbelt violation and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Convicted felon found with loaded gun during traffic stop for seatbelt violation in Rome
