A patrol deputy with the Union County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle speeding down Loving Road in the early morning hours of Monday, Feb. 17, resulting in the largest local cocaine seizure in recent memory.
David Anthony Milam, 38, of a Union County address, has been charged with felony trafficking for possessing 30 grams of cocaine – a trafficking charge is triggered at 1 ounce, or 28 grams – as well as a misdemeanor probation violation regarding a separate arrest warrant.
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The traffic stop occurred at approximately 2:38 a.m. that Monday at the GA 325 intersection of Loving Road. In addition to speeding, the driver’s license plate showed expired, but further investigation revealed the tag had been renewed, according to UCSO Narcotics Lt. Tyler Miller.
After making contact, deputies smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, giving them probable cause to search it, Miller said.
During the investigation, the subjects explained the odor by admitting that marijuana had been smoked in the car, but none was present at the time of the stop, Miller said.
Milam, a passenger, was asked to exit the vehicle, and he took off his jacket and put it in his seat when he got out, “which was odd considering it was below freezing,” said Miller, noting that a subsequent search of the jacket turned up the trafficking amount of cocaine.
The driver of the vehicle was issued warnings, and Milam was taken into custody without incident for booking at the Union County Jail. He has been denied bond.
Milam is presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
Miller said that the narcotic cocaine is a relatively rare drug in Union County, with cheaper means of getting high – particularly methamphetamine and marijuana – being considerably more prevalent.
“We don’t deal with cocaine much – it’s very seldom,” Miller said. “In my time in Union County, that’s the most cocaine I know of that’s been confiscated. Cocaine costs so much is the reason you don’t see it much; it’s the most expensive drug you’re going to buy as far as what we commonly see.”
Sheriff Shawn Dyer said the Sheriff’s Office has been making a lot of drug arrests recently, which he attributed largely to adding a third investigator back to the Narcotics Division.
As with any profession, personnel levels fluctuate at UCSO. The last time the Sheriff’s Office had three dedicated deputies working narcotics was around 2020, and Dyer said the increased manpower is certainly welcome in the division, which operates on “doper time,” that is, anytime.
“Eventually, our goal is to go to four investigators,” Dyer said. “We’re getting a lot of drugs off the street here lately. Being proactive on patrol and the third guy in the Narcotics Unit has been yielding higher arrests.”
Dyer said he was also working to attach one of his deputies to a special federal task force “to help our drug investigators gain more intel, gain more resources, and gain us some extra help in combatting these drugs.”
“This is all a process that we’re going through to help our Narcotics Division, and we’ll disclose more information at later date,” Dyer said.
Lastly, Dyer asked residents with information regarding drug activity in Union County to contact the Sheriff’s Office to place a tip – anonymously if they so choose – at 706-439-6066.
