A $75,000 cash only bond was set Thursday for a Pine Bluff man arrested on drug and weapons charges Wednesday.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Cornelius Westmoreland, 47, with possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, two counts of theft by receiving and with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors had requested the cash only bond because Westmoreland is on the Violent Crimes Task Force watch list after a conviction for first-degree battery. He attended a task force call-in meeting on March 12, 2015.
Westmoreland and Anthony Robinson, 37, were arrested after police vice and narcotics officers and the SWAT team served a search warrant at 1906 S. Main st., at 2:36 p.m.
According to a probable cause affidavit from Pine Bluff Police Department Detective Keith Wright, officers forced entry when no one answered the door; they found Robinson sitting in a recliner in front of the door holding a bag of suspected crack cocaine.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Westmoreland and a female were sitting on a couch, and all three were detained while the search was conducted.
Wright said in the affidavit that a .45-caliber handgun with seven rounds in the clip was found in a dresser drawer, and a check of the serial number showed that it had been reported stolen from Hunter’s Refuge at White Hall. Digital scales were also found in the dresser.
In the kitchen, officers reported finding a Pyrex jar containing suspected cocaine residue.
A second handgun, a 357-caliber that had also been reported stolen, was found on a shelf of the bedroom closet, and a bag of suspected crack cocaine that weighed 2.54 grams was found in a shirt pocket in the closet.
Wright reported that Westmoreland was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center because he complained that his head hurt, and while at the hospital, asked medical personnel to throw something away for him. Police checked the trash can and recovered a plastic bag containing 1.12 grams of suspected crack cocaine and .40 grams of suspected powder cocaine.
A $25,000 cash only bond was set for Robertson on probable cause of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver. Robinson is currently on probation.
The suspected drugs will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis.