Washington County Enterprise-Leader
FBI Arrests Oklahoma Couple With Guns, Drugs
EARLIER ARREST STEMMED FROM PRAIRIE GROVE DINER
Fayetteville police assisted the FBI in arresting two Oklahoma residents after officers found a cache of high- powered weapons and drugs inside their hotel room.
Daphne, 29, and Alan Crawford, 28, both of 98835 S. 4750 Road in Muldrow, Okla., were arrested early Saturday morning in connection with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms and possession of a controlled substance — both felonies — according to a preliminary arrest report.
Daphne Crawford also faces felony charges of f irst- degree terroristic threatening, stemming from an incident that originated at Mel’s Diner in Prairie Grove and Alan Crawford faces first-degree terroristic threatening from an incident in Fort Smith.
Officers on Thursday searched the Crawfords’ hotel room at Value Place in Fayetteville, where they found three AR-15 rifles, a 12- gauge shotgun, two handguns and roughly 2,000 rounds of multiple types of ammunition, the report said.
Also discovered were clonazepam pills and THC wax, the report said. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, THC is the active ingredient in cannabis plants. Clonazepam, meanwhile, is used as an anti-anxiety medicine and often abused to get high, the DEA says.
A public affairs specialist with the bureau’s Little Rock office said in a statement about the arrests: “Unfortunately, at this time we can provide no additional details. We can state that we are not aware of any threats to the public.”
Daphne Crawford was first arrested on felony charges of terroristic threatening in the first degree after she threatened a waitress at Mel’s Diner in Prairie Grove and sent threatening messages and photos via Facebook, according to an arrest affidavit from Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
The affidavit states Daphne and Alan Crawford were eating at Mel’s Diner on May 24 when Alan Crawford became upset at their waitress, claiming service was taking too long and the food was too expensive.
Before the couple left the restaurant, Daphne Crawford looked at the waitress and apparently told her, “People like you are the reason we kill,” the arrest warrant says.
The affidavit states that another person posted a comment on social media after the incident at Mel’s Diner, asking if anyone knew Daphne Crawford. From that post, Crawford initiated contact with the woman, wanting to meet her at a restaurant in Prairie Grove and then threatening the woman and her family through social media and a photo showing Alan Crawford wearing Muslim attire and kneeling beside a weapon.
Alan Crawford was first arrested June 16 on terroristic threatening by Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, according to a summary arrest report. The arrest was made following an incident on June 9 between Crawford and a man who owns a car lot in Fort Smith. The victim reported that Crawford became angry and threatened to kill him.
The couple was being held without bond Sunday at the Washington County Detention Center.
BRANDON HOWARD WITH NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE AND LYNN KUTTER WITH WASHINGTON COUNTY ENTERPRISE-LEADER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.