A local parolee now faces multiple felony drug charges after he was pulled over for allegedly speeding and briefly tried to flee on foot after drugs were reportedly found in his vehicle.
Cody Casteen Turner, 34, who lists a Morphew Road address, was taken into custody shortly before 7 p.m. and charged with possession of meth with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, punishable by up to 20 years, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years.
Turner, who was also charged with a misdemeanor count of fleeing on foot and cited for speeding and having an unsafe vehicle, remained in custody on a $17,500 bond and a zero bond parole hold and was set to appear Wednesday in Garland County District Court. He was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance, meth, on June 3, 2019, and sentenced to three years in prison.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Arkansas State Police Trooper First Class Ryan Wingo spotted a black Mazda pickup westbound on Highway 70 west at a high rate of speed without its lights on, in the dark. Radar reportedly showed it was going 56 mph in a 45 mph zone.
As he turned around to catch up to the pickup, he saw it make "an abrupt turn" onto Marion Anderson Road into a private lot where he lost sight of it temporarily. While traveling west on Marion Anderson back toward Highway 70, Wingo met the pickup again still traveling without its lights on and caught up with it as it turned into the Greenwich Valley Mobile Home Community.
He activated his lights and made a traffic stop and as he pulled in behind the pickup, the driver, later identified as Turner, got out and started walking away. He ordered him to stop and come back and Turner complied. When Wingo asked why he was trying to evade him, Turner denied it and said he had pulled into the lot to "check his lights."
A computer check showed Turner was a parolee with a search waiver on file and showed that the pickup belonged to someone else. When asked if there was anything in the vehicle, Turner reportedly stated there was alcohol but it was unopened and denied there being anything else.
Wingo asked for consent to search the vehicle and Turner reportedly denied his request. He put Turner in the back of his unit intending to hold him for misdemeanor fleeing and at that point, Turner reportedly said there was meth in the vehicle.
In searching the vehicle, Wingo allegedly found two baggies and a plastic container each containing what later tested positive for meth, a total of 10 grams.