A Hot Springs teen was arrested on numerous felony charges Wednesday morning after two loaded guns and almost half a pound of marijuana were allegedly found in his bedroom during an investigation by the local drug task force.
Damien Lamont Walker, 19, of 329 Cooper St., was taken into custody at his residence shortly before 10 a.m. and charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, possession of marijuana with purpose to deliver and unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, each punishable by up to 20 years, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years.
Walker, who lists no prior criminal history, was being held on a zero bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
"We had received a number of complaints of suspected drug activity at that residence which led investigators to do a 'knock and talk' that morning," Deputy Prosecutor Trent Daniels, the acting commander of the 18th Judicial District East Drug Task Force, told The Sentinel-Record Thursday.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after 9:30 a.m., DTF investigators and Hot Springs police went to 329 Cooper St. and made contact with a woman who told them she was renting the residence.
The officers explained about the drug complaints that had been received and the woman signed a consent form allowing the investigators to search her residence.
She told them her 19-year-old grandson who lives with her smoked marijuana and pointed to his bedroom. As investigators walked toward the bedroom, they could reportedly smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside.
Walker opened the door at that point and they explained why they were there. Walker "immediately stated he had some marijuana" and pointed to an area near his closet where plastic bags of marijuana were "in plain sight."
Walker was taken into custody at that time and read his Miranda rights and was asked if he had any firearms. Walker allegedly stated "one of his friends" had left some guns at his house and they were under his mattress.
Investigators checked and reportedly located a loaded Taurus 9-mm semi-automatic pistol and a loaded .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun under the mattress "within reach of the suspect." They also found two additional loaded magazines in the top dresser drawer.
A glass jar with 20.5 grams of marijuana, two plastic bags with a total of 119.3 grams of marijuana, and digital scales were also located in plain sight on a desk in the closet. Walker told them there was additional marijuana in a backpack on a shelf in the closet and investigators opened it and found five bags of marijuana in various amounts.
The affidavit notes the total amount of marijuana found in Walker's bedroom was 209.9 grams, almost half a pound.
It was noted that according to Garland County tax records, the residence was owned by another person and the residence is located less than 1,000 feet from Holy Ghost Church, 1878 Hobson Ave., and a school bus stop at Cooper and Hobson.
