Local man arrested for fleeing, meth pipe
A Hot Springs man was arrested early Friday after allegedly speeding in an unlicensed vehicle and fleeing on foot from police.
Melvin Louis Ollison Jr., 35, who lists a Chelle Street address, was taken into custody shortly after
3:30 a.m. Friday and charged with felony counts of fleeing and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years in prison.
Ollison was initially held on
$5,000 bond and appeared Friday morning via video in Gar-
land County District Court where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. A felony review hearing to determine if the charges will be bound over to Garland County Circuit Court is set for Aug. 13. His bond was lowered to $4,000, but he remained in custody Friday afternoon.
According to the probable cause affidavit, at around 12:30 a.m. Friday Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Rod West observed an unlicensed white Nissan Altima traveling east on Hollywood Avenue.
West caught up to the vehicle at Delaware and Highland streets and attempted to perform a traffic stop, but the vehicle turned right on Ewing Street and accelerated, turning left back onto Hollywood without stopping at the stop sign.
The vehicle accelerated to 65 mph and turned right on Talisman toward Trivista and reportedly continued to fail to stop at stop signs. It turned onto Trivista and the driver ignored the traffic signal at Central Avenue. The pursuit continued at around 70 mph to Third Street, then to Greenwood, and finally onto South Patterson Street where the driver jumped out while the vehicle was moving slowly and fled on foot.
West noted the driver “manifested extreme indifference to the value of human life” during the pursuit.
After a short foot chase, Ollison was placed into custody on Greenwood. Officers allegedly located a glass pipe “used to smoke meth” in the middle console of the Altima.