Court date slated for man nabbed by police dog
Authorities allege Vann was found with bags of drugs after high speed chase
A man who successfully eluded law enforcement twice this year and was allegedly in possession of a sizable cache of drugs and paraphernalia when pinned by a police K9 in August is scheduled to appear in court next week.
Dustin Ray Vann, 28, was wanted for failing to appear in court on charges of breaking and entering and theft of property when he was taken into custody the evening of Aug. 28, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Vann allegedly had successfully evaded arrest in a vehicle and on foot when officers previously attempted to take him into custody.
At about 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 28, officers in an unmarked car waited for Vann in a parking lot where he was expected to appear, the affidavit alleges. Nearby officers in marked patrol units waited out of sight. Vann allegedly pulled into the lot and stopped to pick up a female passenger shortly before officers attempted to make a traffic stop.
Vann allegedly increased his speed as he traveled south on East Street, reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour as he drove on Lineferry Road. As this was allegedly Vann’s third time to evade arrest—putting his passen-
ger, other drivers and pursuing officers at risk—officers decided to deploy police canine Rossi in the event Vann attempted to run into a wooded area.
At the end of a lengthy pursuit, Vann allegedly pulled off to the side of the road and ran. Rossi was released and given the command to apprehend, tackling Vann in the woods about 100 yards from the roadway. The dog’s handler instructed Vann to roll onto his stomach and ordered the dog, which had a hold of Vann’s right arm, to stand down.
Vann was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment. The Miller County Sheriff’s Office informed Texarkana, Ark., police that Vann may have disposed of something when he fled into the woods on foot at night. A Miller County deputy searched the area where Vann was taken into custody and allegedly recovered two black bags as well as a plastic grocery bag smeared with blood and damaged with a dog’s teeth marks. Officers had allegedly noticed a bag lying on the ground when Vann was arrested but were unable to find it in the darkness.
Inside the bags officers allegedly found a baggie containing 18 grams of suspected methamphetamine, two baggies containing a total of 39.5 pills identified as the tranquilizer Clonazepam, a small baggie containing three hydrocodone pills, one pill identified as the tranquilizer Alprazolam, a clear baggie containing 1.6 grams of suspected methamphetamine, a syringe containing “14 dosage units of suspected methamphetamine”, an open package of Southern Max II synthetic marijuana, empty bags, a black digital scale with a white residue, rolling papers, 10 to 20 unused syringes, and a glass pipe with residue.
Vann is currently being held in the Miller County jail.