Two women arrested on drug charges
Two women were arrested Monday afternoon on felony drug charges by Hot Springs police in separate incidents involving the alleged possession of methamphetamine.
Keashia DeAnn Taff, 26, who lists a Crystal Hill Road address, and Sara Marie Hayes, 38, who lists a “city streets” address, were each charged with possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia, both felonies punishable by up to six years in prison. Both are set to appear in Garland County District Court on April 4.
Taff, who is on parole, was arrested at 12:45 p.m. and remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of bonds totaling $9,868.15. In addition to a parole hold, there were holds placed on her by the Dardanelle Police Department and Yell County.
According to the affidavit, HSPD Cpl. LeeAnn Zaner observed a blue Lincoln Town Car with an expired license plate that was determined to be fictitious, so she stopped the vehicle in the 600 block of Fourth Street.
Zaner made contact with the driver and the passenger, who identified herself as Taff. Neither Taff nor the driver possessed a valid driver’s license or liability insurance on the vehicle, and Taff had warrants for her arrest.
Zaner asked Taff to exit the vehicle, and she allegedly began to make evasive movements, shoving a gray cap between the seats. Zaner asked Taff to quit, but she continued to move the item and then stepped out of the vehicle.
Zaner detained Taff and then retrieved the cap and looked inside. She reportedly found a velvet bag containing two straws, a small baggie with a white, crystal-like substance and two glass smok- ing pipes with white residue.
The substance, which weighed
1.4 grams, field-tested positive for meth.
HSPD Sgt. Michael Goss arrived at the scene to assist Zaner. After reading Taff her Miranda warning, Goss asked her what the substance was in the cap. Taff asked Goss what it looked like, to which Goss said it looked like about a gram of “ice.” Taff reportedly said, “Well then, that’s probably what it is.”
Taff allegedly confirmed the substance to be hers, but refused to tell where she got it.
Taff was convicted on Jan.
4, 2016, of two counts of second-degree forgery and one count of possession of a firearm by certain persons and was sentenced to six years in prison on each count, to run concurrently.
Hayes was taken into custody around 5 p.m. after police were dispatched to 2017 Central Ave. regarding a female in the parking lot who was a suspect in a vehicle theft.
According to the affidavit, one of the responding officers attempted to make contact with the suspect, later identified as Hayes, who was entering a yellow cab as the officers pulled into the park- ing lot.
A traffic stop on the cab was initiated and officers made contact with Hayes, who was unable to provide a correct Social Security number or age and then allegedly gave the officers a false name.
The officer noticed a purse sitting next to Hayes, which was open and reportedly contained a loaded syringe. Hayes was identified and taken into custody. There were three warrants for her arrest, including two for failure to appear and one for theft of property.
An additional search revealed two syringes in the purse, one of which contained 0.04 gram of fluid that field-tested positive for meth. A plastic box with multiple plastic baggies was also found, and one of the baggies contained 0.05 gram of a white, crystal-like substance that also tested positive for meth. Another used syringe was located in a backpack Hayes was carrying. Jailers later located a set of digital scales inside of Hayes’ makeup bag.
Hayes reportedly admitted to having a drug problem, but said the amount of meth she possessed should have been a misdemeanor.
In addition to the felony counts, Hayes was also charged with obstructing governmental operations, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail. She remained in custody Tuesday in lieu of $8,000 bond.