Earlier this week, authorities in Georgia arrested Dralin Carswell after a high-speed chase.
This was serious for a variety of reasons, including the fact that his little girlfriend – Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson – was in the car.
In light of this arrest, a long time Mama June: The Road to Redemption fans take a hard look at Dralin’s criminal history.
And he didn’t like what he saw. This wasn’t her first arrest, and Alana wasn’t a younger girl.
On Tuesday, February 28, police arrested 21-year-old Dralin Carswell.
Before his arrest, he allegedly fled from authorities on a three-mile high-speed car chase.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has noted that one of the charges is DUI – specifically, driving under the influence of marijuana.
Alana, 17, who has been dating for about two years now, was a passenger in the vehicle.
(Yes, you did the math right. Not good, right?)
Additionally, there was a 24-year-old man in the car. Police arrested Julian Malik Divon Williams on outstanding warrant.
Authorities have not charged Alana with any crime. However, he was a witness in the case. Police took him to the Monroe County Jail, where Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon picked him up.
Apparently, it all started with an attempted traffic stop. This is when Dralin allegedly sped north for about three miles.
The police use the PIT maneuver (which is a tactic to stop a speeding car, not a sex act). Hopefully, this means Dralin’s “high speed” flight is less than 35 miles per hour. Why? Because above that, the PIT maneuver has potential death to the vehicle occupants.
All told, Dralin’s charges included DUI, fleeing police, following too closely, failure to maintain lane, and speeding.
He received a $25,000 bond. And he reportedly got his release the next day, on Wednesday, March 1.
Cash bail and similar systems turn poverty into pre-trial confinement. It is certainly good that this did not happen to Dralin.
Of course, those who are concerned about Alana after this terrible ordeal remember the reports about Dralin’s criminal history.
On May 29, 2019, the police arrested Dralin for statutory rape. That can cost complexas it can be applied to anyone from a serial predator who cleans minor teenagers for abuse or can apply to high school classmates with disapproving parents the moment one of them has a milestone birthday.
Bigotry, including racism and homophobia, can be a motivating factor in the latter situation. The law also varies by state.
Less than a year before Dralin and Alana started dating, the 18-year-old girl reportedly had sex with a 15-year-old boy in the girl’s bedroom.
The girl’s mother took her daughter to the police. The minor told police that he and Dralin had engaged in consensual sex.
Considering that Dralin and the consensual sex partner were both high school aged and all three years apart at the time, only the mother objected.
Dralin’s alibi attempts did not last. Instead, he completed a pretrial diversion program.
Like I said, it’s complex. 18- and 15-year-olds date all the time. Often, he is a classmate, the 18-year-old has just celebrated his birthday.
But there may be details of this story that we can’t report. And the two teenagers fall for each other a little different than Dralin fell for the new 15-year-old years later. Maybe it was chance, or maybe it was a pattern.