Felon pleads guilty, sentenced to 10 years on drug, gun charges
A local felon was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from a traffic stop last year where he was in possession of a gun and almost a half-pound of marijuana.
Dante Joseph Serrano, 22, who has remained in custody since his arrest Sept. 17, 2020, on zero bond, pleaded guilty to simultaneous possession of drugs and a firearm, possession of a firearm by certain persons and multiple counts of failure to appear and was sentenced to 10 years on each count, all to run concurrently, while an additional felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, with purpose to deliver, was withdrawn.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Sept. 17, around 9 a.m., Arkansas State Police Trooper Jackson Dorman was westbound in the 3700 block of Malvern Avenue when he saw a gold Cadillac traveling at a high rate of speed and clocked it on radar doing 58 mph in a 45 mph zone.
He made a traffic stop on the car as it pulled into the Sonic Drive-In, 3701 Malvern, and the driver, later identified as Serrano, pulled into an open stall at the restaurant and started to get out.
Dorman was behind him at that point and ordered him to stop. Asked if there were any weapons in the vehicle, Serrano indicated there was a gun so he had him get out. A computer check showed he had multiple felony warrants for his arrest, so he was taken into custody.
Dorman noted an odor of marijuana coming from Serrano and asked when he last smoked. Serrano admitted he had been smoking as he was driving down the road.
In searching the vehicle, Dorman found a loaded .22-caliber revolver-style pistol “with the hammer fully cocked.” A check showed the gun was not stolen. In searching further, Dorman found two marijuana cigarettes and a large open bag of marijuana, a total of 6.420 ounces or almost half a pound.
After an additional check confirmed Serrano was a convicted felon, he was charged with the three felony counts and numerous traffic offenses, including driving on a suspended license, no insurance, speeding, no seatbelt and fictitious tags.