This browser does not support the Video element.
Simple traffic ticket turns into felonies
Coweta County deputies say 19-year-old Matthew Paul Anderson could have just been pulled over for a traffic ticket on a brake light violation. Instead, he led them on a hot pursuit, leading them into his home where there were multiple illegal weapons.
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A 19-year-old man, pulled over for a simple brake violation, ran from deputies and ended up at a home, Coweta County deputies say. It was what was inside that home that got him into even more trouble.
Matthew Paul Anderson was charged on Oct. 3 with possession of a suppressor or silencer and possession of a machine gun. Deputies say had he not run from deputies, they would not have known about the illegal weapons.
Deputies attempted to pull Anderson over for a brake light violation, a simple citation. Instead, deputies say he sped off down Highway 16 doing over 70 mph in a 25 mph zone. That’s why is also charged with the felony of fleeing and attempting to elude.
However, it was when he turned into the driveway of a home along Applewood Court that deputies say things took a strange turn.
Deputies ran after Anderson into the home, something Georgia law allows for law enforcement officers to do. It is literally called "hot pursuit."
Once inside, deputies used a Taser on him and placed him in handcuffs.
What caught the eye of pursuing deputies was the stash of illegal weapons, including a semi-automatic rifle that had been altered to be fully automatic, according to the sheriff's office.
Anderson was booked into the Coweta County Jail on the aforementioned charges and possession of marijuana.