Alleged shoplifter arrested on felony drug charge
An alleged shoplifter was charged with an additional felony drug charge after reportedly trying to hide narcotics in the Hot Springs police unit after his arrest Wednesday evening.
Patrick Shane Lively, 43, of Hot Springs, was taken into custody shortly after 6:30 p.m. and charged with possession of a controlled substance, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and misdemeanor theft of property, punishable by up to one year in jail.
Lively, who also had two warrants for failure to appear, was later released on $5,500 bond and is set to appear Jan. 31 in Garland County Circuit Court.
According to the affidavit, HSPD Officer Thomas Plummer responded to the Belk department store, 500 Cornerstone Blvd., regarding a shoplifting suspect and met with the loss prevention officer who had Lively detained. The officer said he had seen Lively conceal a pullover jacket, valued at $54.99, in his pants and walk out of the store without paying.
Plummer noted Lively immediately admitted to him he had stolen the item and a check revealed the failure to appear warrants, so Plummer took him into custody. Lively asked if he could use the restroom “real quick,” but Plummer put him in the unit and transported him to the detention center.
Once there, Plummer gave Lively several opportunities to use the restroom, but he reportedly said he was OK.
Plummer checked the back seat of his unit in the area where Lively had been sitting and found a clear baggie with pills in it, which were determined to be acetaminophen and hydrocodone, both schedule II narcotics, approximately 3.3 grams total, resulting in the additional charge.
• A local man already in custody on unrelated charges from his arrest Jan. 12 was charged Thursday with additional felony and misdemeanor counts stemming from break-ins to three vehicles late last year.
Joshua Allen Fite, 29, was charged with three counts of breaking or entering, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison, and two counts of first-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
According to the affidavit, on Dec. 27, the owner of Kilby Automotive, 974 Airport Road, reported a break-in to three vehicles in his lot belonging to different customers. He noted two of the vehicles, a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup and 1999 Ford F-150 were broken into by having the front passenger door locks pried off with damages totaling $1,057.
A third vehicle, a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup, was entered through an unlocked sliding glass door. Security video showed two white males breaking into the vehicles and HSPD Detective Michael Hall was able to identify one of the suspects as Fite.
After his arrest on Jan. 12, Fite was questioned about the break-ins and allegedly admitted to his part in it.