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Tail light stop leads to meth arrest
Covington-Police-Department - WEB
Darryl Welch
Updated: Apr 14, 2017, 8:41 PM
Published: Apr 14, 2017, 8:42 PM

COVINGTON, Ga. – Covington Police Department (CPD) arrested a Decatur woman April 11 after a stop for no tail lights turned up drugs and a warrant.

According to the CPD report, Officer Matt Holbrook was patrolling the area of Washington Street  a little after 11 p.m. Tuesday when he noticed a vehicle travelling east with no tail lights. After stopping the vehicle at Washington Street and Turner Lake Road, Holbrook reportedly made contact with the driver, identified as Jessica Sexton, 32.

According to the report, as Holbrook was explaining to Sexton that she was being stopped for not having tail lights, he noticed that she was moving about a lot in the vehicle, talking very fast and laughing at nothing. This behavior, according to the report, caused Holbrook to suspect that she might be under the influence of a narcotic.

Holbrook reportedly checked Sexton’s driver’s license through dispatch and was advised that she had a warrant out of Covington.  According to the report, while Holbrook was waiting for somebody to come take custody of a juvenile in the vehicle with Sexton, he asked her if there was anything in the vehicle he needed to know about.  According to the report, Sexton told the officer that her friend had left meth in the car.

According to the report, once the juvenile was removed from the scene, Sexton was arrested. Holbrook reportedly searched the vehicle and found a brown wallet containing a meth pipe, a Mentos can with 2 small cut yellow straws, a bag of suspected methamphetamine, a bag of suspected crushed Xanax and a Motrin pack containing a white powdery substance.

According to the report, Sexton was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of schedule IV, possession of drug related objects, a tail light violation and the outstanding warrant.
Newton County jury finds Covington man guilty of felony murder
Shane Robinson
Shane Robinson - photo by Courtesy of the Newton County Sheriff's Office
Kate Verity
Published: Mar 31, 2025, 9:15 PM

NEWTON COUNTY – On Monday afternoon, 30-year-old Shane Alexander Robinson of Covington was found guilty of killing Charles Edward Stanley III over three years ago.

The Newton County District Attorney’s Office released that a jury deemed that Robinson was guilty on three charges: Felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

On March 5, 2022, sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight, Robinson shot an AR-style firearm at a vehicle that Stanley was driving along Harvey Wood Drive. According to the District Attorney’s release, Robinson fired the weapon 13 times into the vehicle, killing Stanley.

According to a previous report by The Covington News, an arrest warrant stated that Robinson “grabbed his AR-15 (rifle) and drove” from his home to Harvey Wood Drive to “scare” Stanley.

“When Charles was backing up, Shane admitted to firing several rounds at the vehicle,” the 2022 warrant stated. “Furthermore, Shane also initially stated that he fired rounds at the vehicle as it was driving away.”

Robinson initially faced charges of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, unauthorized discharge of firearms within 50 yards of the public highway, and reckless conduct. It is not clear if some of these charges were dismissed.

Sentencing is set for a later date, which has not been announced. A co-defendant’s case is still pending.