A habitual offender on parole was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to a felony drug charge after fleeing from a traffic stop last summer.
Derek Antwan Duvall, 27, of Hot Springs, appeared before Garland County Circuit Court Judge John Homer Wright and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, with his prison term to run concurrent with the revocation of his parole.
Duvall was also ordered to pay $295 in court costs but will be given credit for time served since his arrest Aug. 1.
Duvall is classified as a habitual offender because he was convicted Feb. 17, 2009, of theft by receiving and sentenced to six years' probation. On Dec. 8, 2009, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his probation was revoked from the earlier sentence.
According to the affidavit on the 2015 charge, on Aug. 1, Hot Springs police responded to a fight at the Fountain Motel, 1622 Central Ave., shortly before 6 a.m. and as they arrived, a Chevrolet Trailblazer with multiple occupants fled the area.
Officer 1st Class Mike Jones attempted to catch up to the Trailblazer, but it crashed into a second vehicle in the 400 block of Charteroak Street and all the occupants fled on foot. Two suspects, one identified as Duvall, were located a short time later hiding under a porch on Charteroak.
Duvall was taken into custody and during a search, officers reportedly located a white substance in his pocket that later field tested positive for cocaine, approximately 0.6 gram.
Duvall was initially charged with felony fleeing in addition to the possession charge, but the charge was later withdrawn. He had remained in custody in lieu of $3,000 bond since his arrest.
Local on 02/11/2016