Suspicious behavior lead to the arrest early Wednesday of a local man on felony charges involving the alleged theft of a car from another county and drug possession.
Timothy Wayne Andersen, 32, who lists an East Grand Avenue address, was taken into custody shortly after 1 a.m. and charged with theft by receiving over $5,000, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and possession of a controlled substance, meth, punishable by up to six years.
Andersen was being held on $6,000 bond and was set to appear Wednesday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 1 a.m. Wednesday, Hot Springs police Sgt. LeeAnn Zaner responded to the 200 block of Sonnet Street to make contact with a resident regarding a traffic stop a few blocks away where officers were out with the driver of a vehicle reported as being operated by an unauthorized user.
Zaner arrived at the residence of the car's owner and saw a man leaning against a white Volkswagen parked in the driveway. She said she and the man, who told her he had just got there, attempted to make contact with the residents inside the house but no one was apparently home.
Zaner notes that as she spoke with the man, later identified as Andersen, she "became suspicious of his conflicting statements about why he was present at the house." Officers at the scene of the traffic stop reportedly made contact with the homeowner who confirmed she was not at home and who stated she was unaware of the man at her house or why he would be there.
Andersen told Zaner he was in possession of the keys to the Volkswagen that were given to him by another man and that he had been driving around the area trying to locate the vehicle the other officers had stopped.
Zaner asked him for the keys so she could return them to the homeowner and he gave them to her and retrieved some of his personal belongings from the front and back seat of the car. After checking his ID to confirm his identity as Andersen, Zaner allowed him to leave the area on foot.
Moments later, one of the officers from the traffic stop arrived at the residence and told Zaner the woman was "clueless about the situation." Zaner ran the license plate of the Volkswagen and determined it had been reported stolen out of Lonoke County on Saturday. The vehicle was reportedly valued at $10,000.
Officers located Andersen less than two blocks away and took him into custody on the theft charge. In searching him, a baggie of what later tested positive for meth, .02 gram, was allegedly found in his wallet.
Local on 01/16/2020