A report that a vehicle was traveling southbound Sunday night on Interstate 530 with no taillights resulted in the arrest of the driver after an Arkansas State Police trooper determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen in Hot Springs earlier in the day.
Terrell Tatum, 23, allegedly told Trooper Ryan Felton he “thought the truck might be stolen because the steering column was broken and there was no key, but it was too good a deal to pass up,” Felton said in a probable cause affidavit presented Monday in district court.
According to the affidavit, Felton saw the vehicle, a 1990 Chevrolet pickup, parked on the side of the interstate near the 31 mile marker and Tatum initially said his name was Curtis Cogshell, but after being arrested for driving the stolen truck, gave police his real name and date of birth.
When he was questioned, Tatum allegedly told Felton his “homeboy” had called him and said he had a truck for sale for $800, and Tatum said he offered to pay $500 for the truck, then went to Little Rock, where he paid for the truck and started back to Pine Bluff. He said he had pulled off the interstate because he “ran out of gas.”
According to the Arkansas Crime Information Center, Tatum is on parole and is listed as an absconder.
Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth set a $10,000 cash-only bond for Tatum after ruling prosecutors had probable cause to charge him with theft by receiving.
Even though a bond was set for that offense, Tatum will not be able to post it because of the absconder status.