Jul. 9—Two Athens residents were arrested Monday night and charged with trafficking dangerous drugs after police located fentanyl, methamphetamine and opioid tablets in their vehicle following a traffic stop, according to the Priceville Police Department.
At about 8 p.m. Monday, police said, officers pulled over a black Ford Mustang headed south on Interstate 65 because of the vehicle not having a license plate. Police identified the occupants as Mickey Antonio Bott, 43, and Matthew Daniel Bailey, 41, and began a narcotics investigation.
“This investigation yielded a discovery of a fentanyl/methamphetamine mixture, methamphetamine, opioid tablets, a small quantity of marijuana, various drug paraphernalia, and bundled U.S. currency within the vehicle,” police said.
Bott was charged with trafficking dangerous drugs, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia while Bailey faces charges of trafficking dangerous drugs, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to police.
Bott is being held in lieu of a $135,000 bond while Bailey is being held in lieu of a $125,000 bond, both at the Morgan County Jail.
Both men have faced felony charges in Limestone County in the past, with Bailey being convicted of second-degree assault in September. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was suspended, and placed on probation for two years and was also ordered to pay $3,500 in restitution and $500 in attorney fees.
Bailey also pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance in September and received a two-year suspended sentence to run concurrently with his assault conviction. He was placed on probation for two years.
According to a complaint filed in Limestone County District Court, on May 21, 2024, Bailey hit a man in the arm, head, and leg with a hatchet, “causing him to require medical attention.”
The controlled substance conviction stems from an arrest on April 10, 2023, where he was found with methamphetamine by Athens police.
Bailey pleaded guilty in February 2018 to felony possession of a controlled substance after police found him with methamphetamine, according to the indictment, and was sentenced to two years in prison. His probation was revoked in January 2020, requiring him to serve the full sentence.
In January 2022, Bailey was convicted of fraudulent use of a credit or debit card, a Class D felony, and received a sentence of 40 months in prison, which was suspended.
Bott was charged with identity theft in Limestone County in September 2023 and has a settlement docket scheduled for Sep. 3 in the courtroom of Limestone County Circuit Judge Chad Wise.
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.