This is a roundup of felony charges filed between Jan. 17-31, 2025, by the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office. Some defendants may also have misdemeanor charges against them, but they are not included here. The following names and charges, which are contained within public documents, are gathered from online court records available through ARCourts. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Here’s a rundown of felony cases filed in the past two weeks:
Trio accused of using stolen card for Christmastime shopping spree
Detectives with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office honed in on three suspects that allegedly used a lost debit card to rack up more than $1,000 in a Christmas spending spree.
The investigation was launched on Christmas Eve when a Lucky Liquor patron discovered, too late, that she had dropped her debit card in the parking lot. Surveillance footage showed a subject pick up the card and leave in a vehicle.
The card was used 18 times between Dec. 23-25 at various locations in Arkadelphia, Caddo Valley and Hot Springs. In particular, the victim and investigators probed one purchase made at a Hot Springs phone repair shop, where an employee was able to void the transaction and later supply the investigator with a name and phone number of the suspect responsible for the purchase: Michael “MJ” Buckley Jr., 20. Back at Lucky Liquor, a clerk confirmed that a person known as “MJ” had used the lost card to make a purchase at that establishment.
Meanwhile, surveillance footage at Arkadelphia Walmart helped the investigator point to three people who were in the store together when the card was used at that location. Police were able to identify one of the suspects as 22-year-old Jharia Chante Smith, of Malvern, who is seen using the card before meeting up with Buckley and another suspect identified as Joshua Lamar Brim. Walmart footage also showed Buckley use the card.
Buckley and Smith have both been charged with theft of property lost, mislaid or delivered by mistake, as well as fraudulent use of a debit/credit card, both Class D felonies that carry a prison sentence of up to six years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Charges against Brim are pending and will be determined by the prosecutor.
Police charge cohort in meth sting
Police charged a Gurdon man in connection with multiple controlled buys of methamphetamine.
David Dewayne Garland, 40, was targeted in an investigation by an agent of the Group 6 Narcotics Unit. According to an affidavit, the agent communicated with Garland via phone and social media messenger to discuss prices of meth and set up a meeting place with a third party, Jennifer Desiree Edwards, to make transactions.
Both Garland and Edwards face charges for delivery of methamphetamine of varying amounts. Garland, who has a lengthy criminal history involving narcotics-related offenses, now faces up to 30 years for the drug charges, is additionally charged with Illegal Use of a Communication Facility, a Class C felony punishable by 3-10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Second machine gun suspect charged
A second Arkadelphia man found with a pistol modified to be a machine gun has been formally charged.
Kaden Joffrey King-Lewis, 19, of Arkadelphia, is being charged alongside Garrian Allison for felonious possession of a firearm.
CLICK HERE to read previously reported details in the case.
TEXarkana man a no-show in court for fraudulent Temu purchase
New charges await a Texarkana, Texas, man once police serve him with a felony warrant for failure to appear.
Demonte Lamon Scott, 24, failed to show for a pre-trial review hearing in Clark County Circuit Court on Aug. 13, 2024.
The hearing was related to an April 2024 theft case in which a man reported to Arkadelphia police that his wallet had been stolen while he was at Walmart and began receiving notifications of unauthorized changes to his CashApp account.
Scott’s email address was linked to the account, and he had apparently made several attempts to make purchases from Temu. Police later caught up with Scott at Walmart, where he was employed, and found the wallet on his person.
The new charge carries a prison sentence of 3-10 years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Lead-footed felon found with firearm
An Amity man with a history of felony marijuana charges found himself on the wrong side of the law again, this time carrying a handgun.
Seth Allen Howell, 45, was pulled over on Oct. 30, 2024 when a state trooper observed him hauling tail on Arkansas Highway 8, a few blocks east of Amity’s roundabout as Howell was passing another vehicle doing 71 in a 45 mph zone.
During the traffic stop, the trooper observed a handgun on the vehicle’s center console. The officer returned to his patrol car, where a check of the state’s criminal database revealed that Howell had a felony conviction in 2001 in Clark County. When the trooper returned to Howell’s pickup truck, the handgun was out of sight. Howell complied with instructions to exit the vehicle, and confessed that he stashed the weapon between the seat and console. He was arrested at the scene.
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a prison sentence of up to six years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Felon with truck problems caught with firearms
An Interstate 30 traveler making roadside repairs to his vehicle got a ride to the jailhouse when an Arkansas state trooper found him to be a convict in possession of firearms.
Court records say 38-year-old Tommy R. Estes, of Canton, Texas was arrested the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2025. About a mile north of the Gum Springs exit, a trooper stopped on the eastbound shoulder to check on Estes, who was seen working underneath a pickup truck with suspension issues.
With no identification to provide so the trooper could document his deed, Estes went on to admit that he was armed. A check of a criminal database showed him to have an active warrant out of Boone County for a misdemeanor probation violation, as well as a felony conviction in South Carolina for aggravated sexual assault dating to 2008.
Estes was then disarmed and detained, and an inventory of the vehicle yielded two additional handguns and a shotgun.
He faces up to six years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, a Class D felony punishable by up to six years behind bars and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Waldo man won’t stop for cops
A Columbia County man with a criminal history and a warrant for his arrest didn’t want to go to jail on the evening of Jan. 19, 2025.
Joshua Lindon Talley, 33, of Waldo, was arrested when he led Clark County deputy sheriffs on a high-speed pursuit between Joan and Arkadelphia.
Lawmen observed Talley’s vehicle make an improper turn on Arkansas Highway 51, and proceeded to initiate a traffic stop. The eastbound vehicle immediately pulled over, but as the deputy began to exit his patrol car, Talley shifted to drive and made a U-turn for Arkadelphia.
An affidavit says the pursuit reached speeds of up to 90 mph on the short stretch of highway between the intersection at 51/7 and Arkadelphia. Talley continued traveling at dangerous speeds as he entered the city limits, but came to a “rolling stop” at Caddo and 2nd streets, where he then jumped out of the vehicle and hoofed it. The foot chase ended when a deputy caught up with Talley.
He was found to have a suspended driver’s license and an active warrant out of Nevada County. He was also absconding from the state parole board. The affidavit notes Talley’s girlfriend was a passenger of the vehicle.
He’s being charged in Clark County with fleeing in a vehicle causing danger, a Class D felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Given his status as a habitual offender, prosecutors are seeking a sentence enhancement.
Man circling residence found with crack, pot
Arkadelphia police made an arrest after investigating a complaint that a male suspect was repeatedly driving past a 2nd Street woman’s residence.
On the evening of Dec. 20, 2024 officers were given a description of 33-year-old Kebrecus Marqeisa Blakely’s car and located it at the nearby Carpenter Hill Apartments. A traffic stop ensued. With a search waiver on file and an admission that there was “about an ounce” of marijuana in the car, officers combed the vehicle and found several plastic bags and pill bottles containing pot and crack cocaine, respectively.
The search netted a total of 1.76 grams of crack and cocaine, as well as over 1 ounce of marijuana and some drug paraphernalia.
Blakely, who lists addresses in both Arkadelphia and Waldo, is charged with possession of a Schedule I/II controlled substance (crack cocaine), and possession of drug paraphernalia, each a Class D felony punishable by a prison term of up to 15 years. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence enhancement given Blakely’s status as a habitual offender.
Campus traffic stop yields drugs, gun charge for Gurdon man, 66
A Gurdon man with a criminal history faces new felony charges after a traffic stop on the campus of Henderson State University.
Lee Otis Thompson, 66, was arrested Dec. 7, 2024 after a Clark County sheriff’s deputy found meth/fentanyl and a firearm during a search of Thompson’s vehicle.
The deputy reportedly caught a whiff of marijuana as he approached Thompson’s car and saw multiple clear baggies in the driver’s side door compartment.
A search of Thompson’s person revealed a crystalline substance in a jacket pocket, and a subsequent search of the vehicle yielded more meth and paraphernalia.
Police also located a loaded pistol magazine and its matching firearm in the area around the driver’s seat.
A police affidavit does not provide the exact location of the traffic stop. Police indicted Thompson with proximity to certain facilities and other charges.
Prosecutors are charging Thompson with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, a Class Y felony punishable by 10-40 years or life in prison; possession of meth with purpose to deliver, a Class C felony punishable by 3-10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000; and possession of a firearm by a certain person, a Class D felony punishable by up to six years behind bars and a fine of up to $10,000.
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