A local parolee was arrested on felony drug charges late Wednesday after meth was allegedly found embedded in the carpet of his vehicle and cocaine was found hidden in his hat following a traffic stop.
Joseph Clarence Wynn, 46, who lists a Boaz Street address, was taken into custody shortly before midnight and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years in prison, and had a warrant for a parole violation.
Wynn, who was also cited for driving on a suspended driver's license, having fictitious tags and driving a vehicle without tags, was being held on $5,000 bond and a zero bond parole hold and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 11:30 p.m., Hot Springs police officers saw a 2016 Toyota Camry northbound on Linwood Avenue and pulled it over in the 100 block of Dewer Street after the license plate returned to a 1998 Nissan pickup.
The driver and sole occupant, identified as Wynn, was found to have a warrant for absconding so he was taken into custody. Officer Jason Greene saw a shortened straw on the floorboard which had white residue inside it. Next to the straw he saw what appeared to be meth embedded in the carpet, but a small portion was field tested and showed a positive reaction for meth. There was also a metal container in the back seat that had meth residue.
Wynn was taken to the Garland County Detention Center where deputies allegedly found a baggie hidden in the elastic band of his hat that contained 0.8 gram of what later tested positive for cocaine.
According to court records, Wynn pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2014, in Jefferson County to felony charges of residential burglary and theft of property over $5,000 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all the sentence suspended.
On May 13, he pleaded guilty in Garland County District Court to a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to one year in jail with all but 30 days suspended.
• A level 2 sex offender who has been repeatedly arrested and convicted for failing to register was arrested again Wednesday morning for not reporting to the police department in the time required.
Jerome Anthony Whigham, 34, who lists a Hobson Avenue address, was taken into custody shortly after 9 a.m. and charged with a felony count of failing to comply with sex offender registration and reporting requirements, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He remained in custody Thursday in lieu of $3,500 bond and is set to appear today in district court. He was previously arrested on the same charge on June 11, 2013, by Garland County sheriff's deputies, on Nov. 22, 2016, by Hot Springs police, on May 8, 2017, by Little Rock police and on Aug. 14, 2018, by both Hot Springs police and sheriff's deputies.
He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 10 years with the entire sentence suspended, on 2017 and sentenced to three years' probation, and most recently on Dec. 10, 2018, and sentenced to six years in prison, but had been paroled, all out of Garland County Circuit Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit on Wednesday's arrest, Whigham came to the police department that morning to verify his information. It was noted the last time he had verified his registration was on Sept. 26, 2017, when he was told to return no later than March 17, 2018, to verify it again. He allegedly never returned and was 584 days past the stipulated date.
Whigham told detective Brian Branstetter he was incarcerated during a portion of this time, but he was released on Sept. 3 and had seven days to report, but failed to do so until Wednesday.
Local on 10/25/2019