image: Jaeson Smith, District Attorney at Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit
(PRESS RELEASE) On March 6, 2025, a Haralson County jury returned a guilty verdict against Terrell Guy Bruce, and Patricia Neal for trafficking methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession of methamphetamine. Ms. Neal was also convicted of giving the false name of Bridgette Skye Jones to a police officer. Chief Superior Court Judge Mark H. Murphy presided over the trial and will sentence the defendants on May 14, 2025.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Robert Peterkin prosecuted the case. The lead law enforcement officer on the case was Gene Brown. Brown is now the Chief of Police of the Tallapoosa Police Department. The evidence presented at trial established that Officer Brown conducted a traffic stop on a Dodge pickup truck because it did not having a working tag light. The traffic stop occurred on August 4, 2020, at about 11:30pm.
Officer Brown made contact with the driver of the vehicle, Ms. Neal. She advised him that she did not have a driver’s license and provided him with the name of Bridgette Skye Jones. Officer Brown asked her to exit the vehicle in order to show her the malfunctioned tag light. Ms. Neal complied. Officer Brown then observed that Ms. Neal had a plastic baggie sticking out of her bra. She said it was empty and handed it to him. The officer observed suspected methamphetamine in the plastic baggie and asked her for consent to search the vehicle. She agreed.
The officer asked the front seat passenger, Terrell Guy Bruce, to exit the vehicle. A pat down of his person led to the discovery of over $1,300 in cash and a small amount of suspected marijuana.
A search of the pickup truck led to the discovery of over 50 grams of methamphetamine, numerous empty plastic baggies normally used to package narcotics, a digital scale used for weighing drugs, and numerous syringes.
The case was initially scheduled for jury trial on June 26, 2023. However, Terrell Bruce failed to show up for trial and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Subsequently, law enforcement located him in Hawaii and he was extradited to Georgia.
District Attorney Jaeson Smith stated, “At trial, Robert Peterkin masterfully presented the evidence to the jury. On behalf of the Haralson County District Attorney’s Office, I would like to thank the Tallapoosa Police Department and former Drug Task Force Agent Brian Rutherford for the hard work on this case.”
