Burglary, battery suspect arrested after allegedly fleeing traffic stop

Damian Shawn Owens - Submitted photo
Damian Shawn Owens - Submitted photo

A homeless man sought on burglary and battery warrants from earlier this year was arrested Wednesday night after fleeing a traffic stop by Hot Springs police, prompting a brief manhunt.

Damian Shawn Owens, 46, who lists "city streets" as his address, was taken into custody shortly after 8 p.m. and charged with a felony count of possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years in prison, and a misdemeanor count of fleeing on foot. Owens also had warrants for a felony count of residential burglary, punishable by up to 20 years, and misdemeanor third-degree domestic battery.

Owens, who was also cited for driving on a suspended driver's license and having expired 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 on his arrest, shortly after 7:30 p.m., Officer 1st Class John McLean saw a red 2008 Toyota RAV4 westbound on Grand Avenue with an expired license plate so he stopped it at Grand and Quapaw Avenue.

Immediately after the car stopped, the driver, later identified as Owens, jumped out and ran west on Flint Street. McLean gave the driver's description to other officers and then heard the passenger door open and saw the female passenger, 45, getting back into the car.

McLean reviewed his dashcam footage of the stop and saw that the passenger had thrown a small gray bag out of the vehicle. The bag was found to contain syringes, a broken glass pipe with meth residue and a metal spoon with residue.

K-9 Officer Chad Ford and his partner, Ork, started a track at the Pecan and Flint streets and were able to locate Owens in the backyard of a residence on Pecan and take him into custody without further incident.

While Officer Brandon McAdoo was walking Owens to a unit, they overheard radio traffic about the passenger being taken into custody because of the gray bag. McAdoo states Owens "spontaneously uttered to me that the paraphernalia located in the vehicle was his and he had told the passenger to throw it."

According to the affidavit on the burglary and battery charges, on Jan. 12, a woman reported a burglary to her residence on Lillard Lane to Garland County sheriff's investigators.

She stated her ex-boyfriend, identified as Owens, who is the father of her adult daughter, came into her residence without permission through an unlocked door and began yelling at her about her cousin.

She said Owens then got into an argument with their daughter which turned physical when Owens allegedly began punching the daughter in the face and pushed her into a window, causing a cut on her left forearm.

Sheriff's Investigator Charlie Mowery issued a warrant for Owens' arrest later that same day on the burglary and battery charges.

Local on 05/08/2020

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