JONESBORO, Ark. – The party ended behind bars early Friday morning for two who had just recently left The Vault, a police report said.
Just before 2 a.m. Friday morning, May 12, Jonesboro Police Department Officer Michael Talley noticed a silver 2007 Chevrolet Malibu as it turned off of Fair Park onto Phillips, headed west bound. The car was going at a high rate of speed, the incident report said, but as the officer got behind it, it pulled into Casey’s General Store gas station next to a pump.
The occupants got out and walked around the car but did not buy any gas, the officer observed. It then pulled out of the gas station going north bound on Caraway Road. As the officer got behind the vehicle, he reported it turned the right signal on before the intersection at Race Street – then braked, served as if it was going to turn on Race, but continued to go straight with the turn signal still on. Then, the vehicle abruptly braked and turned into Super 8 Motel.
After that maneuver, the officer believed the driver was intoxicated and avoiding him. He stopped the vehicle – noticing it occupied by five people.
As the officer approached, the driver, Keri Lynn Hufford, 23, of Pocahontas, was unable to figure out how to roll her window down and struggled to open the door, the officer said. Once the door opened, however, the officer caught a whiff of the fumes of alcohol. Hufford didn’t know where her license or registration was, slurred her words and had bloodshot eyes.
After displaying a lack of control during tests, Hufford blew a 0.19 on the portable breathalyzer test – over double the legal limit. She learned then she was being arrested – and the report said she lost it.
Hufford began to scream, yell, and curse, the report said. Officer Cheyenne Jordan, arriving to assist, searched her and put her into the back of a patrol car.
One of the passengers in the back seat, a male, identified himself to police as “Antonio Brown. ” He claimed he didn’t have his ID on him but another passenger had mentioned they had all been at The Vault a short time before. The officer knew “Brown” would need an ID to get in, so he asked dispatch for a photo of the subject. Then, while searching the man, he found his ID in his left sock. It was not of Antonio Brown, but rather, Brandon Renald Baker, 27, of Jonesboro, showing to have four failure to appear warrants through Jonesboro. He was arrested for obstruction of governmental operations.
While Baker was taken to Craighead County Detention Center without incident, Hufford fought police the entire way. The report said she continued to kick the cage in the patrol car and slammed her head on the inside of the unit. At CCDC, she gave three insufficient breath samples and was charged with refusal to submit.
The report goes on to say she would not sign her citation in the jail and was “combative” to officers there, too.
Hufford faces charges of DWI, refusal to submit, hazardous driving, no proof of insurance and disorderly conduct. Baker, who was transported without incident, was cited for obstruction of governmental operations, for the false identification information, as well as the FTAs.
Photos courtesy CCDC.
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