Driver arrested on drug charges

HOT SPRINGS — A traffic stop resulted in a Hot Springs man being arrested early Tuesday on multiple felony charges after police reported finding drugs, a stolen gun and drug paraphernalia in his possession.

Shane Ellis Krum, 35, a convicted felon on parole, was arrested shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday. He was charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison; possession of methamphetamine with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 30 years; possession of a firearm by certain persons, punishable by up to 20 years; theft by receiving of a firearm, and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years.

Krum, who lists a Ledgerock Road address, was also charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, which is punishable by up to one year in jail; and was cited for driving on a suspended driver’s license and disobeying a stop sign.

According to the probable-cause affidavit, Deputy Richard Garrett was on patrol in the area of Spring Street and Westinghouse Drive when he saw a brown car going south on Westinghouse fail to stop at the sign at the Spring Street intersection.

The deputy stopped the car as it turned onto Rookard Lane, and the driver, later identified as Krum, got out and walked toward a nearby fence, according to the affidavit. The deputy repeatedly ordered him to stop, but he continued until he made it to the fence where he lit a cigarette and then finally walked back to the car and sat in the driver’s seat, the affidavit says.

The deputy conducted a computer check, which revealed that Krum’s driver’s license was suspended and that he was a parolee who had a search waiver on file. The deputy searched the vehicle and reported finding under the driver’s seat a loaded 9mm pistol that had been reported stolen in Garland County.

Garrett then walked to the fence where Krum had stood and found a backpack on the ground, according to reports. Inside the backpack was a box that contained a plastic bag with 61.8 grams of meth and a bag of what later tested positive as 2.7 grams of marijuana, the affidavit said.

The bag also contained a set of digital scales and several smaller plastic bags “commonly used in the distribution of illegal narcotics,” the affidavit said. A cellphone and $505 in cash were also seized from Krum, the affidavit states.