Hall County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Gainesville man Monday for several offenses stemming from three hit-and-run collisions in a school parking lot.
Deputies took Joshua Morgan Hawkins, 18, into custody at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot of West Hall High School.
Hawkins, who is not a student at the school, backed into one vehicle and hit two others with his car while he was driving through the lot, according to the initial investigation. The School Resource Officer stopped Hawkins and notified the Traffic Unit.
“As a result of their investigation, Traffic Unit deputies arrested Hawkins for driving under the influence of drugs,” says Hall County Sheriff’s spokesperson Derreck Booth. “While inventorying the car following the arrest, deputies found a handgun, THC vape cartridge, and a nicotine vape pen.”
Officers charged Hawkins with three counts of hit-and-run, DUI drugs, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, carrying weapons within a school safety zone, and possession of tobacco by a minor.
Deputies also arrested Hawkins’ passenger, Julian Michael Fillingham, 18, of Hannibal, New York, for misdemeanor obstruction of an officer. According to Booth, Fillingham repeatedly interfered with the Traffic Unit investigation.
The incidents remain under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. Both men remained in the Hall County Jail on Tuesday afternoon, March 30.
