Woman involved in case jailed on warrant for heroin possession

Note: This story has been updated to provide additional information. – KtE

A man facing failure to appear warrants on rape and other charges in Alabama remained in custody at the Polk County Jail, and a woman he was with during his arrest in a traffic stop was later jailed on a felony drug warrant as well according to Polk County Police reports.

Polk County Police charged Michael Wayne Childress, 23, of 660 Ottinger Road, Horton, Alabama, with a trio of felony counts for theft by taking stolen property into (the) state, theft by taking and possession of heroin during his arrest on Monday evening, June 14 after police found a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of the Western Inn Motel in Rockmart around 1:30 p.m.

Per the reporting officer, they were on patrol around the area and found the stolen Hyundai Kona with a broken rear driver side window with Alabama plates.

Upon further investigation, they found that the suspects with the stolen vehicle were booked into a room at the Western Inn and went to knock and talk with anyone who might be involved. They could tell someone was inside and tried to knock several times as curtains moved in the window, but no one came to the door. Police left the hallway and decided to regroup.

Officers around 2 p.m. then called in a wrecker service to take the car, and they were on the way to turn the vehicle back over to the car rental company that owned it. Once the vehicle was taken away, officers left the Western Inn, and repositioned themselves.

During this time, the reporting officer heard from a Detective from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama and learned that Childress – who was alleged to have stolen the Hyundai and fled from Alabama – had four failure to appear warrants for his arrest including second degree rape.

While waiting for confirmation of the warrants, a second suspect involved in the incident Crystal Baulding – who had rented the hotel room – showed up in a 2005 GMC Yukon, circled the building, stopped for a moment and then took off down Highway 101. They made it as far as the Aragon City Hall parking lot before police pulled the vehicle over, and found both Baulding and Childress within around 3 p.m.

Additional backup including a K9 officer was called to the scene, Childress was taken into custody and was rushed to the Polk County Jail after it was learned he had injuries to his nose and leg and because of the extreme heat.

While continuing the investigation on the scene, other officers reported back that heroin was found inside the vehicle and neither Baulding or Childress would take responsibility for the narcotics. Both were charged with possession, but Baulding at the time had been allowed to leave without any charges placed since she had not taken responsibility for the heroin found.

Childress was later reported to have also denied the heroin was his, and officers determined they would charge both parties.

A warrant was drawn up for her arrest, and on Tuesday police found her back in the same hotel room which she had booked prior to the Monday arrest of Childress.

Baulding, 40, of 40 Peachtree Road, Rockmart, was booked on Possession of Heroin on Tuesday. She remained in custody with no bond set as of this posting.

A $13,000 bond on charges Childress now faces in Polk County keeps him in Georgia custody for the time being, and he was still booked in jail as of this posting.

He faces failure to appear warrants in Alabama for misdemeanor Third Degree domestic violence, felony Possession and Receipt of a Controlled Substance, an expired Driver’s License misdemeanor and a felony second-degree rape charge.