Armor-piercing rounds found during drug arrest
A Hot Springs man was arrested early Sunday on multiple felony charges after he was found passed out in a vehicle at a car wash with drugs and an assault rifle loaded with armor-piercing bullets in his possession.
Elijah Lee Law, 26, who lists a Kinsey Lane address, was taken into custody shortly after midnight and charged with felony counts of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 20 years, possession of meth
with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 10 years, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years.
Law, who was also charged with misdemeanor counts of carrying a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia, was initially being held on zero bond, but appeared Monday in Garland County District Court via video where Judge Ralph Ohm set his bond at $50,000 after he pleaded not guilty to all the charges. A felony review hearing is set for Dec. 17.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Hot Springs police Officer Thomas Plummer saw a red Ford Fusion parked in the washing area of the Higdon Ferry Car Wash, 401 Higdon Ferry Road, and noted the vehicle and its sole occupant had not moved after 10 minutes.
Plummer approached the vehicle and noted the driver, later identified as Law, was passed out with his “mouth wide open and his head backwards parallel with the roof.” In Law’s lap, he reportedly saw a partially open container and in the passenger seat, leaned against the dash, he saw an AR-15 rifle within arm’s reach.
Law began to stir and Plummer ordered him to get out of the car. As he stepped out, Law allegedly dropped a small plastic bag on the ground that contained 1.3 gram of what later tested positive for meth. In Law’s pocket, the officer reportedly found a glass meth pipe and noted Law had a 7-inch fixed blade knife sheathed on his right hip.
The container in Law’s lap allegedly had a spoon with residue and five used syringes. A baggie in the center console reportedly contained another 0.3 gram of meth, a glass bottle of clear fluid and a marijuana pipe. Under the driver’s seat, a zippered container was found with another meth pipe and under the passenger seat a bottle was found containing a dark, wet plantlike substance, 10.9 grams, which Law reportedly later admitted was psilocybin mushrooms.
The rifle was examined and found to be loaded with 23 military grade “green tip” ammunition “designed for armor penetration.” Throughout the vehicle, including underneath Law’s seat, officers located various calibers of ammunition.