Traffic stop leads to manhunt, arrest
A traffic stop on a reckless driver led to a manhunt and the driver’s arrest on multiple felony drug charges after he fled on foot into the woods Wednesday afternoon.
Issac LeKeith King, 34, who lists a Bower Street address, was taken into custody at 4:20 p.m. and ultimately charged with five counts of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, two counts of possession of methamphetamine or cocaine with purpose to deliver, and fleeing on foot, all felonies with the maximum punishments ranging from 30 years to six in prison, and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, punishable by up to one year in jail.
King remained in custody Thursday in lieu of bonds totaling $43,000 and is set to appear Aug. 11 in Garland County District Court. He also had a zero bond parole hold on him from the 18th Judicial District East Drug Task Force.
According to the affidavit, around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Alcohol Beverage Control agent Dennis Ball was eastbound on Highway 270 just east of Carpenter Dam Road when he saw a black 1998 Ford Expedition speeding at
more than 80 mph and tailgating vehicles in front of it.
He caught up to the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop and noted the black male driver “looked back in his rear view excitedly” before veering onto the right shoulder, jumping out and fleeing on foot. Ball noted the suspect was dressed all in black and clutching a medium-sized shiny black cloth bag.
The suspect fled down the embankment and into a wooded area. After determining there were no other occupants in the vehicle, Ball radioed for assistance and Arkansas State Police and Hot Springs police units responded, including K-9 Officer Brandon Jones and his partner, Keena, and they set up a perimeter around the area.
Ball and Jones entered the woods to conduct a ground search and had been looking for several minutes when they received information the suspect had been spotted coming out of the woods by a homeowner on Old Church Road.
Jones and Ball moved to that area and resumed their search and Keena immediately picked up a trail and tracked the suspect back toward Highway 270. Along the way, they located a black cloth bag identical to the one Ball had seen the suspect carrying.
About 50 yards further, Jones and Keena located a suspect, identified as King, lying on the ground, and Ball identified him as the man who fled from the traffic stop. He was taken into custody without further incident.
In searching King and the cloth bag, officers located several items of suspected narcotics in the form of powder, rocks and pills as well as a large amount of assorted cash.
The affidavit notes 104.5 grams of powder cocaine, 5.7 grams of crack cocaine, 7.7 grams of marijuana, 3.4 grams of meth, 1.2 gram Dilaudid, 3.4 grams of amphetamine, 1.1 grams of alprazolam, 1.9 grams of Xanax, and 34.2 grams of hydrocodone were found, along with $510 in cash, which was all seized by DTF agents.
The DTF is comprised of investigators from the ASP, Garland County Sheriff’s Department, HSPD, 18th Judicial District East prosecuting attorney’s office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.