A "misunderstanding" about a license plate ended with the arrest of a local teen on multiple felony charges after a gun and drugs were allegedly found in his car late Monday.
Virgil Pierre "Pee Wee" Doss Jr., 19, who lists a Pinewood Street address, was taken into custody around 9:30 p.m. and charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, punishable by up to 20 years, possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, with purpose to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years.
Doss remained in custody on zero bond Tuesday and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Monday, shortly after 9 p.m., Hot Springs police Officer Brandon McAdoo was getting back into his unit after responding to a call in the 1300 block of West Grand Avenue when a gray Ford Mustang with a loud exhaust passed by him.
Due to the vehicle being loud, McAdoo said it caught his attention so he ran the license plate which came back to a red vehicle. Since it didn't match, he made a traffic stop on the car at the intersection of Hobson Avenue and Lacey Street.
As he got out of his unit to approach the car, he ran the license plate again and it came back to a gray 2004 Ford Mustang, which was the vehicle he had stopped. McAdoo said he approached the passenger side of the car to make contact with the driver, later identified as Doss, "to apologize for the misunderstanding."
He said he immediately noted a strong odor of marijuana and saw an AR-15 rifle on the front passenger seat. He had Doss get out and Doss reportedly told him the gun belonged to him, but he "wasn't sure" about the marijuana smell. An open black bag was also on the passenger seat and McAdoo noted he could see a glass jar with marijuana in it, later found to be 11.3 grams.
Doss was taken into custody at that time and in searching him, the officer allegedly found $585 in cash in his possession along with a plastic baggie. Also in the black bag was a baggie with 5.3 grams of marijuana and another empty baggie.
In the back floorboard, the officer reportedly found a black digital scale.
Local on 04/29/2020