Deputies Arrest Man on Felony Drug Charges After Chase in Lake City

LAKE CITY, Ark. — A Blytheville man is facing four felonies, two misdemeanors, and more after a traffic stop turned into a pursuit early Monday in Lake City.

At about 1 a.m. on Monday, August 5, Deputy Walls with the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office was traveling west on Highway 18 when he observed a black Nissan Altima traveling in front of him with expired tags, the probable cause affidavit states. The deputy turned on his emergency lights at Highway 18 and Highway 135. The vehicle started to slow down and pull over, but it pulled back onto the highway and sped off at high speed, the deputy reported.

At around the 1800-block of Highway 18, the deputy noticed the driver throw an object out of the window. Moments later, the vehicle slowed down and came to a stop near Highway 135 and County Road 928.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Other officers arrived to provide backup, and they conducted a felony traffic stop.

Deputies searched the vehicle and noted it had a strong smell of marijuana. They found three capsules of suspected MDMA, five grams of suspected marijuana, and digital scales with marijuana residue. Deputies also located $713.25 in cash, all in small bills.

The suspect claimed he threw a Glock handgun out of the window, the deputy reported in the affidavit. Authorities searched the highway but could not locate anything in the dark. Later in the morning, Deputy Wright searched the area where the supposed gun was thrown out. Instead of a gun, the deputy found a plastic bag with 470 grams of suspected methamphetamine. The drugs were recovered and transported back to the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office.

Corey Leashea Weatherspoon, 24, of Blytheville, was arrested for trafficking a controlled substance, a Class Y Felony; possession of a schedule I or II, not meth or cocaine, with purpose to deliver, a Class C Felony; felony fleeing, a Class D Felony; tampering with physical evidence, a Class D Felony; possession of a schedule VI with purpose to deliver, a Class A Misdemeanor; possession of drug paraphernalia, Class A Misdemeanor; and unclassified charges for no liability insurance and expired vehicle tag.

A $250,000 cash/surety bond was set for Weatherspoon on Monday afternoon by Judge Tommy Fowler.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.