Man arrested from Uber’s traffic stop

Warrants lead to search that finds half pound of meth, paraphernalia in car

HOT SPRINGS — A Jacksonville man who took an Uber from Little Rock to Hot Springs was arrested on felony drug charges Monday night after a traffic stop on the vehicle in which police reported finding half a pound of methamphetamine.

Jeremy “Jay” Alan Barrett, 33, a felon with a lengthy history, was taken into custody shortly after 7:30 p.m. and charged with trafficking a controlled substance, meth, punishable by up to life in prison, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to 20 years, and had active felony warrants on a delivery of meth charges.

Barrett remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $205,000 bond.

According to a probable cause affidavit on Monday’s arrest, around 7:30 p.m., Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class John Albright made a traffic stop on a gray 2017 Ford Fusion at Malvern Avenue and Crescent Street after information was developed that Barrett, who was the subject of an active narcotics investigation, was a passenger in the car.

After approaching the vehicle, Albright noted the driver’s side window was down and he saw a white male in the seat behind the driver who matched the photos he had seen of Barrett, so he ordered him to put his hands on the headrest in front of him and not move, police said. Barrett complied and was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody on the warrants, police said.

The male driver, 51, and a female front-seat passenger, 42, were also asked to exit the vehicle and both were reportedly cooperative and gave consent for officers to search the entire vehicle as needed.

In searching the car, officers reported finding a green backpack on the floor behind the driver’s seat that contained a large silver and red digital scale, several baggies, and a white “T-shirt bag” that contained 284.7 grams, which is over 10 ounces or over half a pound, of a white substance that later tested positive for meth.

A cigarette container was found near the gear shift which contained a baggie with 2.6 grams of meth, and a baggie with 1 gram of marijuana along with “copious amounts of unused medical syringes” were found around the center console.

The driver and female passenger were questioned after being read their rights and both stated they were “just Uber drivers” who had picked Barrett up in Little Rock and transported him to Hot Springs.

They noted Barrett started out riding in the front passenger seat but then he “began to act strange” as they got to the city limits of Hot Springs, police said.

They said they made him move to the back seat. Neither the driver or passenger would admit to any dealings with the drugs or paraphernalia found so they were eventually released from the traffic stop after their information had been documented.

According to court records, Barrett was convicted in 2014 on felony drug charges and felony fleeing and sentenced to eight years in prison; in 2017 for possession of a firearm by certain persons and sentenced to three years in prison; and in 2019 on felony drug charges and sentenced to four years in prison, all in Pulaski County. He also has felony drug charges pending in Saline County from a Jan. 10 arrest and the local delivery warrants filed in Garland County Circuit Court.