Check on suspicious vehicle leads to arrest of two on multiple charges
A check on a suspicious vehicle Saturday morning resulted in the arrest of a local man and woman on multiple felony charges after drugs, a gun and forged checks were allegedly found.
Garrett Colton Frye, 27, who lists a Wood Street address, and Crystal Maria Ramos, 25, who lists a Fred Place address, were both taken into custody shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday. Frye, a convicted felon, was 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, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm by certain persons, and misdemeanor counts of fleeing on foot, resisting arrest and obstructing government operations.
Ramos was charged with three felony counts of second-degree forgery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years.
Frye was being held on bonds totaling $100,000 and Ramos was being held on $15,500 bond and both appeared Monday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Hot Springs police responded to the intersection of Grand and Central avenues in reference to a blue Dodge Caravan parked on the lot whose occupants were loitering and “acting suspicious.”
Upon officers arrival, they noted the license plate on the Caravan returned to a different vehicle. They made contact with Frye, who initially gave them a false name, and he said he was the owner of the vehicle. He allegedly fled from the officers on foot, but was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.
He was reportedly found to be in possession of numerous drugs, a firearm and assorted drug paraphernalia.
Officers then made contact with the other occupants, including Ramos, and the vehicle was searched. Officers allegedly found a purse containing a used syringe, three checks made out to Ramos and a bag that contained another syringe loaded with a liquid that later tested positive for meth.
The three checks found belonged to a local couple who had reported them stolen on Jan. 29. Ramos had initially told the arresting officers the purse, bag, drugs and paraphernalia were hers, but when questioned later by Detective Nathan Rines she claimed she didn’t write the checks and that the syringes were not hers.