Man arrested for alleged drugs, gun in vehicle
A Hot Springs man was arrested early Thursday after drugs and a shotgun were allegedly found in his car when he was stopped by Hot Springs police investigating shots fired in the area.
Jonathan David Gray, a previ- ously convicted felon, was taken into custody at 4:18 a.m. and charged with felony counts of si- multaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, possession of firearms by a certain person, punishable by up to 20 years, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance, each punishable by up to six years.
Gray, who lists a Shadow Terrace address, remained in custody Friday in lieu of zero bond and is set to appear in Garland County District Court on June 27.
According to the affidavit, Officer Joe Vanderburg was patrolling the area of Grand Avenue and Valley Street shortly after 2:30 a.m. Thursday and heard what sounded like a gunshot to the southwest, prompting other officers to respond to the area.
A man walking in the area flagged down Vanderburg, saying he had heard what sounded like a gunshot in the area of Sanford Street. While checking the area, Officer 1st Class Brian Branstetter observed a green Mustang with its headlights turned off driving south on Oakcliff Street. As he turned around on the Mustang, a female got in the car, which then sped away.
Branstetter’s unit was unable to catch up to the vehicle until it pulled into 113 Shadow Terrace.
The female exited the vehicle and ran into the residence, so the officers were unable to make contact with her. The driver, later identified as Gray, then exited the vehicle and Branstetter made contact with him.
Branstetter located a shotgun in the vehicle’s back seat. Gray reportedly said he knew the shotgun was there and allowed officers to search the vehicle. Cpl. Brandon Jones arrived on scene with a K-9 unit.
Gray said he had previous felony convictions for drugs, weapons and possession of a firearm in Michigan.
A search of the vehicle located a set of digital scales with methamphetamine residue, a separate
scale and a gold-painted box that contained two glass pipes, three 20-gauge “slugs,” a white box with bags containing crystalline residue and a green bag containing 1 gram of crystalline substance, two lighters, fireworks, scissors, rolling papers, a rolling machine and pieces of loose jewelry.
Another bag with white crystalline residue, two glass pipes and four bullets were allegedly found on Gray’s person when he was searched later at the Garland County Detention Center.
Gray reportedly admitted the substance in the green bag was meth, and the pipes inside the box were “for smoking meth.” He said that the female passenger ran inside the residence because she was afraid of being arrested for warrants.