Request for cigarette leads results in felony charges after traffic stop
A request to retrieve a cigarette resulted in the arrest of a local man on felony drug charges following a traffic stop early Tuesday.
Juan Manual Palacios, 28, who lists a Goodner Lane address, was taken into custody shortly before 4 a.m. and charged with possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia, each punishable by up to six years in prison.
Palacios, who was also cited for driving without a license, was being held on a $5,000 bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, Hot Springs police Officer Jonathan Smith was patrolling in the 600 block of East Grand Avenue when he spotted a dark blue 2008 BMW that had been reported as being driven without the owner’s permission earlier.
The car was in the parking lot of the Dodge Store, 640 E. Grand, and then exited headed west on Grand. Smith made a traffic stop on the car in the parking lot at the corner of Grove and East Grand and made contact with the driver, identified as Palacios, and a female passenger.
After informing Palacios that his girlfriend had reported the car was being used without her permission, Smith asked for permission to search the car while waiting for the girlfriend to come get it. Palacios reportedly consented to the search and Smith had him get out to check him for any weapons.
As Palacios got out, he removed his black jacket and gave it to Smith. Smith noted he could feel a cellphone and a pack of cigarettes inside the front pocket of the jacket. Smith patted Palacios down and found no weapons, but then Palacios asked if he could have a cigarette from his jacket.
Smith removed the cigarette pack to get a cigarette and reportedly noticed a plastic baggie in the pack which was found to contain 0.7 gram of what later tested positive for meth, so Palacios was taken into custody.
A further search of the car reportedly uncovered a glass meth pipe under the driver’s seat and a rubber pipe with marijuana residue from the side door panel. There was also another baggie with an unweighable amount of what appeared to be more meth.
The girlfriend arrived at the scene and declined to press charges against Palacios for unauthorized use of her car.