Bad driving leading to drug arrests in Greene Co.

PARAGOULD, Ark. – Several instances of bad driving have resulted in Greene County authorities making multiple drug arrests, this month.

On Nov. 8, Greene County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Tommy Huffstetler was traveling westbound on East Kingshighway behind a blue Lincoln Town car when, according to Huffstetler’s report, the vehicle swerved into the eastbound lane. He immediately began a traffic stop. 

The driver apologized to the officer, claiming his car was damaged during a past accident and was “out of alignment.” The man and a back seat passenger, not arrested, were removed along with a front seat passenger,  Lauren Alexandrea Simino, 22, of Paragould. When authorities began a search of the vehicle, they found a black purse with silver studs and inside, a set of digital scales, 19 unused small zip lock baggies and a hypodermic needle. According to the report, she admitted it was hers. She was arrested on charges of felony possession of meth with purpose to deliver and possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.

However, it was not the only arrest of the month to begin with a simple traffic stop.

On Nov. 13, Deputy Jimmy Huffstetler was heading north on North Rockingchair Road when he noticed a blue vehicle coming out of the apartment complex on the west side. The officer said the vehicle failed to slow or stop before entering the roadway.

“The vehicle caused me to run off the side of the roadway to avoid a collision,” Huffstetler wrote.

He immediately stopped the driver, Ashley M. Galvan, 35, of Paragould. As she pulled into a Kum & Go at the intersection of Highway 412 and North Rockingchair Road, the officer said she got out of the vehicle and turned toward the store, as if she was going to go inside. He told her to stop and get back into the vehicle.

After informing her of why he was stopping her, the near head-on collision, the officer asked for her license. She did not have it on her, the report said. However, she did give the officer her name. He learned from dispatch she was on probation and began a search, asking her to empty her jacket pockets. When the officer turned to the vehicle, he reportedly noticed her hiding something in her waistband. It was a bag containing three peach-colored Xanax pills. She was arrested and taken to Greene County Detention Center, where she was also found to have a bag of meth, the report said. She faces misdemeanor careless and prohibited driving and possession charges for the pills. She also faces a felony possession charge for the meth.

A third suspect, Tamara Lynn Hargett, 32, of Paragould, was also arrested for felony possession of methamphetamine after she drove left of the center line, according to a report by Sgt. Tommy Huffstetler on November 12.

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