By Carlos Galarza (Contact / Staff Bio)
March 27, 2008 - 12:05 a.m. EST

WALHALLA — Discussions were underway Wednesday between the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in California on how to deal with a big fish caught in a small pond.

The fish is 39-year-old Patrick Miller. He was wanted by the FBI 3,000 miles away on the West Coast for trafficking 13 kilos of cocaine in California.

Oconee County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dale Colegrove reeled Miller in Tuesday when the deputy spotted the suspect doing 73 mph in a 65 mph stretch on I-85 near Fair Play.

Little did Colegrove know that the traffic stop would lead to a big catch. However, the officer quickly saw he was on to something when a check of the Georgia tag on the white Hummer Miller was driving came back as having been stolen.

Furthermore, a background check of the man’s North Carolina driver’s license, which bore the name of Segun A. Waldron, turned up 11 aliases, six dates of birth and nine Social Security numbers. He was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center as John Doe. Eventually, his real name was confirmed to be Patrick Miller.

Colegrove and his K-9 police dog circled the Hummer. The dog alerted he sniffed something. A search discovered a boxed compartment in the rear of the SUV, which had to be pried open from inside the third-row seat. Inside the compartment were four packages that contained almost 9 pounds of cocaine.

Chief Deputy Terry Wilson said the suspect is someone who is obviously “moving a lot of drugs.”

Wilson said federal agents in California were in communication with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. He said they are interested in getting Miller back.

“It sounds like he’s somebody that needs to be off the streets,” Wilson said.

Miller was being held without bail Wednesday at the Oconee County Detention Center. Locally, he faces charges of cocaine trafficking and possession of a stolen vehicle.