A Hot Springs man was arrested early Friday morning on multiple charges, including possession of a counterfeit controlled substance.
According to a Hot Springs Police Department report, Bobbyjoe Donald Bolin, 34, 212 Poplar St., was arrested around 4:15 a.m. Friday after a foot chase. In addition to the possession charge, he was charged with theft of property less than $1,000, fleeing on foot, and refusal to submit to arrest. Bond was set at $4,750 and he is to appear in Garland County Circuit Court on Dec. 30.
The report states that police Officer Hammons was in the parking lot of Walgreens, 3631 Central Ave., at about 4 a.m. and saw two suspects, both wearing dark clothing and masks, running away from the store toward Columbia Hills Street.
Hammons states a witness waved him down and pointed to the suspects and later told the officer they had jumped the counter in the store, took boxes of cold medicine and fled.
Hammons said he went to the area of Columbia Hills and Magnum Street to look for the suspects, and saw a man, later identified as Bolin, wearing dark coveralls and a ski mask, exit a wooded area on a bicycle headed north, which matched the description of one of the suspects who ran from the store.
The report states that Bolin continued north on Magnum and then dropped the bicycle and fled on foot, with Hammons chasing him. Hammons said Bolin ran through a small field, then turned around and headed back toward Columbia Hills, ignoring the officer's commands to stop.
Hammons said Bolin then lost his footing on a loose rock and fell, and was taken into custody after a brief struggle.
Bolin was in possession of a black bag containing five packages of Claritin-D with a value of about $100. When Hammons searched Bolin, he said he found a small plastic bag containing about 1.7 grams of a crystal-like substance in his right front watch pocket.
The suspected methamphetamine was field-tested, but did not show a positive reaction for meth, the report notes.
Local on 12/20/2014