A Hot Springs man was arrested late Tuesday near Lake Ouachita State Park by Arkansas State Parks officers on felony charges after he was reportedly found passed out in his vehicle with drugs and guns in his possession.
Daniel George Anderson, 42, who lists a Highway 7 north address, was taken into custody around 10:45 p.m. and charged with possession of meth with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years.
He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to one year in jail. He was later released on $8,000 bond and is set to appear Aug. 7 in Garland County District Court.
According to the affidavit, around 10:30 p.m., Arkansas State Parks officers Robert Hauger and Molly Elders spotted a white Chevrolet pickup parked on the shoulder of Highway 227 near the Lake Ouachita State Park entrance and noted it was directly in front of "no camping" and "area closes at dark" signs.
As they passed, Hauger noted the male driver, later identified as Anderson, was slumped over in the driver's seat so they stopped and approached. They noted Anderson had saliva dripping from his mouth and it took several attempts by both officers to finally wake him up.
The officers both noted he had slurred speech and there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the pickup.
In searching the vehicle, the officers allegedly found 25 syringes, a bag of suspected marijuana, scales with marijuana residue, a bag of a crystal substance that later tested positive for meth, two burned spoons, a glass smoking pipe with residue, empty baggies with meth residue and a plastic box.
They noted monetary amounts, names and size amounts were written on the bottom side of the box lid "in a manner consistent with that of a ledger," the affidavit states. They also found a 12-gauge shotgun behind the seat and a gun case with two muzzle loading rifles in the cargo area of the pickup.
In searching Anderson's person, the officers reportedly found two baggies of suspected marijuana and a gold metal smoking pipe.
Local on 07/27/2017