A felon on parole was arrested early Friday after he allegedly led Hot Springs police on a lengthy high-speed pursuit and a loaded gun was found in his vehicle.
Derrick Lakeith Chambers Jr., 22, who lists a Malvern address, was taken into custody shortly before 4 a.m. and charged with felony counts of fleeing in a vehicle and possession of a firearm by certain persons, each punishable by up to six years in prison, and a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended driver's license.
Chambers, who was also cited for careless and prohibited driving, failure to stop at a red light, improper lane usage, three counts of improper lane change and 15 counts of failure to stop or yield, was being held on a zero bond parole hold and was set to appear Monday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 2:45 a.m., Officer Jamie Ugartechea was on patrol in the 600 block of East Grand Avenue when he spotted a tan Buick traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed and attempted to make a traffic stop.
The driver, later identified as Chambers, allegedly refused to stop and accelerated, turning off East Grand onto Lila Street. He reportedly continued to Spring Street and then Convention Boulevard while traveling at a high rate of speed "disregarding all stop signs and red lights."
The suspect vehicle continued to Cottrell Street, through the area of Wade and Potter streets, back to Grand, then to Valley and East Belding streets, before continuing to Central Avenue, Higdon Ferry Road and making "several laps" around Leonard Street before finally coming to a stop at the intersection of Jerome and Fleet streets.
At that point, Chambers was taken into custody without further incident. During an inventory of his vehicle prior to towing, officers reportedly found a Glock .40-caliber handgun under the passenger seat "in plain view" and noted it was loaded with five rounds in the inserted clip.
According to court records, Chambers was convicted on Feb. 12, 2018, in Garland County Circuit Court of first-degree criminal mischief and sentenced to three years' supervised probation. On March 10, 2020, he was convicted again of possession of a firearm by certain persons and was sentenced to four years in prison, but later paroled.