North Carolina man arrested for alleged drugged driving

CLAYTON — Last Tuesday, the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office arrested an out-of-state man for driving under the influence of drugs.

In broad daylight, at approximately 1:24 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy noticed a grey Ford F-150 was “jumping” lanes dramatically on GA 15 South.

After running the tag number through dispatch, the officer was advised that the vehicle was not registered. The deputy then began to make an arrest and flashed his lights to notify the driver he was being pulled over.

The truck ignored law enforcement and continued driving — blowing through a stop sign on his way.  The driver proceeded to turn into the Walmart parking area where enforcement said he pulled into a lane abruptly and nearly crashed into the vehicle parked in front of him, leaving only an eight-inch gap between the two vehicles.

Upon contact, the deputy identified the driver as Christopher James McNeilly of Robbinsville, North Carolina.

When speaking with McNeilly, 59, enforcement noticed the man had something in his mouth and was trying to hide it with his tongue while talking. The officer asked him what was beneath his tongue, to which, McNeilly replied with by answering, “my medicine.”

The deputy patted the man down and recovered a pill bottle full of assorted variations of narcotics — two kinds of Xanax, Morphine and Oxycodone. The pill McNeilly had beneath his tongue was also identified as Morphine.

A thorough search was conducted on the inside of the truck and also to be located where additional narcotics — several prescription bags, a pill bottle for Morphine containing 12 Oxycodone pills in the bottle packed with cotton and two Morphine pills found on the floorboard of the truck.

A sobriety field test was conducted on McNeilly which he failed after law enforcement reported he would stumble and sway his way through the test, as well as slurring his speech.

McNeilly was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of drugs and was transported to the Rabun County Medical Center Emergency Room. Following treatment, he was booked at the Rabun County Detention Center where he was charged with DUI Drugs, Failure to Stop at Stop Sign, and Failure to Maintain Lane.

Enforcement gave McNeilly a verbal warning for the slew of narcotics that were found. The pills were disposed of along with the prescription bottles at the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office.