A Pine Bluff man was arrested Thursday after police found copper fittings that had allegedly been stolen from a company at Stuttgart.
Cedric McLemore, 32, allegedly told police that two night shift workers at the Lennox plant, where he also worked, had taken the fittings to his car when they got off work. McLemore said he then transported the fittings to a salvage yard to sell.
According to a probable cause affidavit from Pine Bluff Police Detective Scott Norton, Norton was at Johnson Recyclers at 2000 Sturgis Road when he saw two 55-gallon drums containing the copper fittings; an employee told him that McLemore had sold them to Johnson’s.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Norton said he contacted Lennox and confirmed that McLemore worked there. When Norton went to the plant, an employee identified fittings as having been made at Lennox.
When questioned, McLemore said the two other employees had approached him and asked if he wanted to make some money, and he agreed to take the fittings to the salvage yard.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set a $10,000 bond for McLemore Tuesday after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge him with theft by receiving.
Bond set for man seen with handgun
A $25,000 bond was set Tuesday for a Pine Bluff man who was allegedly carrying a handgun when he was seen by police Thursday.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Khyree Smith, 26, with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms.
According to a probable cause affidavit from Pine Bluff Police Detective Kevin Kirk, Kirk and Pine Bluff Police Officer Charles Clark were patrolling in the area of West 17th Avenue and Linden Street in an unmarked car when they saw Smith with a silver handgun in his hand.
After seeing the officers, Smith ran to a wooded area in the back yard of a house between West 17th Avenue and West 18th Avenue between Cherry and Linden Streets, where he was taken into custody.
Kirk reported that officers found a bag containing suspected crack cocaine within two feet of where Smith was arrested; when they retraced his path, they found a .40-caliber handgun beside a tree. A check of the serial number showed that the gun had not been reported stolen.
Three arrested after high speed chase Saturday
A high speed chase that began Saturday when police tried to stop a jeep that had turned without using a signal ended when the vehicle hit a curb and flattened a tire. Three men who were in the vehicle were chased down.
Tyrone Barker, 26, Nicholas Bondon, 25, and Deandre Freeman, 22, were in the jeep, which turned into a parking lot at Mallard Loop and Olive Street without using a turn signal, and when police activated the emergency lights on their vehicle, the driver of the jeep fled to old Main Street, Pine Bluff Police Detective Kevin Kirk said in a probable cause affidavit presented in district court Tuesday.
According to the affidavit, a passenger in the jeep was seen throwing green vegetable material out the window of the vehicle before it hit the curb.
Police used a taser to subdue one of the men, and the two others were caught on East 33rd Avenue after a foot chase.
When officers went back to the jeep, they found a bag of suspected marijuana, and when officers walked the street after the chase, they located a large clear bag of suspected marijuana at 37th Avenue and Main Street; they picked up scattered marijuana in the street at 39th Avenue and Main Street. The total weight of the suspected marijuana recovered was 646 grams, and it will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory at Little Rock for analysis.
Kirk reported that officers also seized $6,477 in cash from two of the three men.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set a $25,000 bond for Barker, who is on parole, and for Freeman, and a $10,000 bond for Bondon Tuesday after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge them with possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence and fleeing.
Two on parole arrested after gun, drugs found
Two Pine Bluff men who are both currently on parole were arrested Sunday after police stopped the vehicle they were in for an equipment violation.
Alex Thomas Jr., 26, was driving the vehicle, which had a headlight out, when Pine Bluff Police Detective Michael Battles and Pine Bluff Police Officer Kevin Collins stopped it in the 1300 block of South Maple Street. Barry Payton Jr., 26, was a passenger in the vehicle.
According to a probable cause affidavit from Battles, Collins saw an open bottle of vodka between Payton’s legs and took possession of it, and a warrants check showed that Thomas is on parole and had an active arrest warrant.
During an inventory of the vehicle, police found a Glock Model 17 with 17 live rounds in the magazine.
When Thomas was asked if he had any drugs, he allegedly said he had K-2 in his back left pocket; officers found four bags of Kush K-2 in his left pocket. Each bag weighed 11 ounces.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set a $25,000 bond for Thomas after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge him with possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver and being a felon in possession of a firearm. A $25,000 bond was also set for Payton on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Suspected marijuana found after traffic stop, chase
A traffic stop by police Monday on a vehicle that failed to use a turn signal resulted in the arrest of a man who allegedly had drugs in his possession.
According to a probable cause affidavit from Pine Bluff Police Officer Roy Gober, Maury White, 27, ran from the vehicle after it stopped on West 39th Avenue and was chased to the backyard of a house by Pine Bluff Police Sgt. Brett Talley.
Gober reported that he and Pine Bluff Police Officer Corquis Chism were patrolling when they saw the vehicle fail to signal for a turn; when White jumped out and ran, Talley, who was also in the area, saw White drop something, then pick it up and jump a fence into the backyard of the house where he was arrested.
When police retraced White’s steps, they detected a strong odor of suspected marijuana and found a white bag containing eight clear bags of suspected marijuana weighing 278 grams.
The suspected drugs will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set a $15,000 bond for White Tuesday after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge him with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms.
Vehicle in roadway Saturday results in drug arrest
A report that a vehicle was blocking a driveway in the early morning hours Sunday resulted in the arrest of a man on drug-related charges.
Chester Beard, 56, told police that the alleged crack cocaine found in a smoking pipe was “my medicine,” Pine Bluff Police Detective Jarrell Johnson said in a probable cause affidavit presented in district court Tuesday.
According to the affidavit, an officer was sent to the 1600 block of South Plum Street, where Pine Bluff Police Detective Ryan Moheb told the officer that he had been talking to a man regarding a prior incident in the 1500 block of South Plum Street when he saw a vehicle turn left on West 15th Avenue. Three subjects then jumped out and ran from the vehicle, leaving it in the roadway.
Johnson reported in the affidavit that the vehicle had not been stolen, and a short time later, officers were called back to assist Moheb, who was chasing one of the men he saw jump out of the vehicle.
That person was identified as Beard. When he was checked for officer safety, the officer felt a bulge in Beard’s pants pocket, which Beard described as medicine. The bulge was a silver smoking pipe with suspected crack cocaine in the bowl, and it will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set a $10,000 bond for Beard after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge him with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Beard said he would hire his own attorney.