A Malvern man and a Hot Springs woman were arrested on multiple felony charges late Wednesday after a traffic stop led to the discovery of over a pound of marijuana, a gun and more than $3,000 in cash.
David James Traylor, 25, of Malvern, and Alexandra Mealister Allen, 24, who lists a Lorelei Circle address, were taken into custody shortly after 9:30 p.m. and each charged with felony counts of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, involving marijuana and codeine, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Traylor, who allegedly ran from Hot Springs police after the stop, was also charged with misdemeanor counts of fleeing and obstructing government operations. Both were being held on zero bond and are set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the affidavit, police Officer Chad Ford was northbound in the 3600 block of Central Avenue when he saw a southbound Chevrolet Camaro with the headlights off. He then saw the headlights turned on and off several times before going off again. He turned around and caught up to the vehicle and stopped it in the 200 block of T.V. Hill Road.
As he approached the vehicle, the driver, later identified as Allen, started to get out and he told her to get back in. As he got closer he allegedly saw Allen and the passenger, later identified as Traylor, reaching around near their legs and the floorboard and ordered them to keep their hands where he could see them.
Ford notes he smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and when he asked about it, Traylor allegedly admitted he had a "blunt" of marijuana, which he showed to Ford. Both suspects were removed and patted down and officers began searching the vehicle, allegedly finding a small amount of marijuana in the center console and a semi-automatic pistol under the passenger seat.
After the gun was removed from the vehicle, Traylor allegedly got up and ran east through the front yard of a nearby residence with officer Taylor Gates in foot pursuit. After a warning, Gates deployed his Taser, which caused Traylor to fall to the ground briefly, but then he got up and continued running east through other yards.
Ford got back in his unit to chase Traylor and spotted him running through a yard at the corner of T.V. Hill and Woodcrest Street. He pulled onto Woodcrest and Traylor ran toward him and then laid down on his stomach and surrendered.
After both suspects were in custody, the officers continued searching the vehicle and reportedly found a large red bag in the passenger floorboard that contained two bags of marijuana, about 1.03 pounds, and $3,177 in cash. In the back seat, they found a half-full pint bottle of Promethazine with codeine and an additional empty bottle.
Local on 11/17/2017