Officer Chris Rankin

Public Information Officer

903-798-3187 (office) 903-260-0294 (pager)

903-824-4199 (cell) 903-798-3023 (fax)

Texarkana Arkansas Police Badge

Re: Marijuana Arrest

Texarkana Arkansas Police arrested a man on a charge of possession of marijuana during a traffic stop which occurred on 5/9/06.

At approximately 10:00am officer Lloyd Douglas was monitoring traffic near the area of Loop 245 and Arkansas Blvd. A vehicle was observed to be speeding and officer Douglas attempted to catch up to the vehicle. Due to heavy traffic, officer Douglas was not able to catch up to the vehicle until the intersection of Arkansas Blvd., and Garland St. Officer Douglas observed that the driver was continually reaching into the back seat of the car and at the same time attempting to slump down into the seat.

The driver turned into a private drive in the 1100 block of E.37th and it was at this time that officer Douglas approached the vehicle. The driver was identified as Jacob Belk (w/m/20 Genoa, AR). During the course of the traffic stop officer Douglas asked for consent to search the car due to the actions that Belk had taken when reaching into the back seat. Belk gave consent to the search of his vehicle and during the search officers discovered approximately 1oz. of suspected marijuana in a plastic bag which was located in the back seat. (For comparison sake, in most instances, 1oz. of loosely packaged marijuana will fill a normal sized zip-lock freezer bag. ) A pipe which is commonly used to smoke marijuana was also located in the vehicle and was also seized as evidence.

Due to the amount, Belk was arrested and charged with possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver. This charge is a felony and at this time no bond has been set.

Anyone with information pertaining to any felony crime is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at (903)793-STOP. If your information leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect you could receive up to $1000.

Thank you and you can visit the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department online at http://www.txkusa.org/arkpolice.