A traffic stop on a truck with fictitious tags Wednesday afternoon ended with the driver arrested for felony drug trafficking after more than half a pound of meth and digital scales were allegedly found.
Brandon Lee Stevens, 43, who lists an Alpine Street address, was taken into custody around 2 p.m. and charged with felony counts of trafficking a controlled substance, meth, punishable by up to life in prison, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to 20 years.
Stevens, who was also cited for driving on a suspended driver's license and having fictitious tags, remained in custody Thursday on zero bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Hot Springs police Cpl. Zac Rostan saw a blue Chevrolet truck stopped at the intersection of Sixth and Hobson and a computer check showed the license plate returned to a gray GMC Envoy.
He activated his lights to make a traffic stop and the truck remained at the stop sign for an extended time, and then pulled onto Hobson Avenue and continued east without stopping. Rostan noted the driver passed a small parking lot where he could have pulled over and continued at a low speed until he finally turned onto Fifth Street and stopped.
Rostan noted the driver, later identified as Stevens, could be seen reaching over to the center of the truck, where the cup holders would be. Rostan made contact with Stevens and noted he appeared shaky as he spoke to him.
When told about the license plate, he stated a police officer had called and told him a license plate belonging to him was on a vehicle involved in a pursuit. When asked who called, he said he was informed of it during a previous traffic stop.
After determining Stevens' driver's license was suspended, Rostan took him into custody. During a search of the truck, a plastic bag with meth residue was found stuffed in the crack of the bench seat.
There was a steel cup in the cupholder halfway filled with water that had a clear crystal-like substance, that appeared to be meth, at the bottom. Rostan noted the substance was at the bottom, not floating like ice cubes would, and the cup was not cold to the touch.
The substance field-tested positive for meth, a total of 238.1 grams, which is 8.3 ounces, or over half a pound. A set of digital scales with meth residue were found in a toolbox in the truck bed and Stevens had $505 in cash in small bills in his wallet.
According to court records, Stevens was convicted in Pike County on Jan. 28, 2014, of felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft by receiving over $25,000 and was sentenced to five years' probation.
Local on 10/25/2019