EPD makes arrests in alleged theft, assault
An El Dorado man is scheduled for a first appearance hearing today in 35th Judicial District Court following a drug arrest at a local supermarket.
Officers initially responded Saturday to an incident in which a customer at Mac’s Fresh Market, 511 N. West Ave., was attempting to use an electronic benefits transfer card that had been reported stolen or lost.
A check into the incident led to the arrest of James H. Davis, 47, of the 800 block of East Fourth, on a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana and a Union County Sherriff’s Office warrant for child support enforcement.
An El Dorado police officer who was working off-duty security at Mac’s made contact with Davis at 8:37 p.m., saying that Davis was attempting to use a state-issued EBT card that belonged to someone else.
The officer said the card reader issued a notification that the card had either been lost or stolen.
According to a police report, Davis was taken into custody after the officer learned of the UCSO warrant.
Police seized the EBT card and a second EBT that was reportedly in Davis’s possession and that also belonged to someone else.
During an inventory search of Davis’s vehicle, police found two plastic bags, one containing crystal methamphetamine and the other containing marijuana, according to a police report.
A chain saw that was found inside the vehicle is also believed to have been stolen, police said.
Aggravated assault
A 17-year-old boy was arrested early Sunday morning for aggravated assault and other charges after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend.
Officers were called just before midnight Saturday to a residence in the 500 block of Meadow Lane in reference to a woman wanting to speak with them.
The 20-year-old woman told officers that the teen, her boyfriend, had attacked her. Police noted that the woman was visibly upset and frightened.
She said she and the boy had been arguing for the past couple of days and the altercations had turned violent at points, with the boy punching her several times with his fists.
The complainant said that when she denied the suspect’s demands to “look through her cellphone, he would get extremely upset with her.”
When she again denied him access to her phone Sunday night, he grabbed her from the porch and dragged her inside the
residence and into a bedroom, where he choked her, the woman told police.
She said the teen made several terroristic threats against her as he choked her and he released his grip just as she started to lose consciousness.
After the suspect left the bedroom, the woman said her sister entered, handed
her her cellphone and suggested that she climb out the window and call police.
Police said the boy was taken into custody without incident and was subsequently transported to a juvenile detention facility in Batesville, per instructions from the area juvenile probation office.