A $25,000 bond was set Friday for a man previously convicted of a felony after police found a handgun in a car in which he was a passenger.
Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Kedrick Johnson, 36, with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Pine Bluff Vice and Narcotics Detective Richard McCorvy said in a probable cause affidavit that he and Pine Bluff Detective Lee Freeman were patrolling in the area of 24th Avenue and Poplar Street Thursday when they stopped a white Dodge Charger with a fictitious license plate.
The car had been seen at a known drug location, and a check of the numbers of the license plate showed that it should have been displayed on a Chevrolet Cruze.
McCorvy reported that the vehicle identification number near the windshield had been obscured, and the identification number inside the driver’s door had been scratched out. Other detectives arrived and began to try and verify that the car had not been stolen; the driver and passengers were asked to stop out.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Police K-9 Sgt. Zeke and his handler arrived, and Zeke alerted on the front passenger side of the car during an open-air sniff. Meanwhile, McCorvy was searching the back seat area where Johnson had been sitting and found a .38-caliber pistol loaded with five rounds under a hoodie.
A criminal history check showed that Johnson was a convicted felon. A check of the serial number of the gun showed that it had not been reported stolen.
When Johnson was searched, police found a plastic bag containing 15 small pieces of paper with a sweet-smelling green material believed to be K2 on them, The total weight of the suspected K2 was six grams and the material will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis.
Johnson, who is currently on probation, said he would hire his own attorney.