Accident response turns into drug bust for MPD

Accident response turns into drug bust for MPD

Marion police seize ‘ ice’ cache, arrest Jonesboro woman on list of charges

ralphhardin@gmail.com A one-vehicle crash early Thursday morning became a crime scene after Marion police officers responded and found more than an ounce of “ice,” a crystallized form of methamphetamine in the vehicle.

Patrolmen Justin Gregg and Quinton Price arrived on the scene of the singlecar accident around 5:40 a.m. Thursday along Interstate 55 north bound near Marion. There they found a white female in the vehicle who claimed that an 18wheeler had driven her off the road and left the scene.

“She gave a name that ultimately turned out to be false,” said Marion Police Detective Lt. Freddy Williams. “She couldn’t produce any kind of identification. Said she was ‘Samantha Croom,’ which the officers determined wasn’t true.”

Eventually, her identity was found to be Melissa Bradley, 27, of Jonesboro.

An investigation of the scene led to an unexpected discovery.

As the officers were work- ing the scene, they found her to be in possession of a bag of a crystal substance that was field tested and determined to be ‘ice,’ a form of crystal meth,” explained Williams. “She also had a glass pipe in her possession and some pills.”

Bradley was arrested and the drugs were seized, later to be weighed in at 41 grams, nearly 1.5 ounces.

She was taken to the Crittenden County Detention Center and remains in custody awaiting arraignment on a long list of charges including two counts of felony possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of possession of methamphetamine with the purpose to deliver, possession of a schedule IV or V controlled substance, driving with a suspended license, failure to maintain control of a vehicle, no proof of liability insurance, obstructing governmental operations, and refusing to provide information for a law enforcement official.

“Our officers did an excellent job working the scene, under the direction of (night shift supervisor) Sgt. John Millsap,” said Williams. “They deserve a lot of credit for the work they did.”

By Ralph Hardin