POLICE BEAT

More than $37,000 in cash was seized after a traffic stop by Arkansas State Police Trooper Dale Donham in Bryant on Feb. 17.

Donham stopped a Ford F- 150 pickup on the north access road, just west of Interstate 30 Exit 123, about 10:25 p.m. A red Nissan that was traveling with the Ford also stopped, and Donham called for Bryant police to bring a drug dog.

The drug dog reacted toward substances in the Nissan. Bryant Officer Kevin Smith found two large bags behind the front passenger seat; $37,299 was tightly compressed in plastic wrap.

No charges were immediately filed, and the suspects were allowed to leave after the suspected contraband was seized. The investigation remains active.

A speeding driver received multiple charges after reaching speeds around 80 miles per hour on Benton Streets at 2:35 a.m. Feb. 22.

James Phillip Johnson, 26, of Gray Street, Benton, was initially clocked at 72 mph westbound on Edison Avenue.

The unlicensed Chevrolet car turned onto East Street without signaling, another right onto Pearson Avenue and a left turn onto Edison, headed east.

The car accelerated on Edison before the driver stopped in the 1800 block.

Johnson told police he'd had "two beers." An open Busch beer can was thrown on the floorboard, and several unopen Busch cans were visible in the car.

He tested 0.13 blood alcohol content at Saline County jail, and was charged with driving while intoxicated-third offense, driving on a suspended license, no seatbelt, failure to signal and careless or prohibited driving.

A Paron-area man faced multiple charges after a Benton wreck on Feb. 22.

Steven Henning, of Joe Johnson Road, told police he didn't need an accident report, saying his 2000 Chevrolet pickup didn't have any new damage after running into a ditch on Jackson Street, just east of Bird Street.

He said he'd had "four or five" beers. Two Xanax pills and 6.6 grams of suspected marijuana were found in the truck.

Henning tested 0.18 BAC at Saline County jail. He was charged with DWI, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

A no-bond warrant was served Feb. 22 after a report of a possible drunk driver on Benton Parkway. Police located the suspect's Chevrolet pickup truck parked in the 1000 block of Edison Avenue. A white male exited and was staggering toward a mobile home.

John Michael Rutledge, 44, was picked up on the warrant for battery-third degree, obstruction of governmental operations and an incarceration commitment.

A motorist was picked up on a Saline County Sheriff's Department warrant after he was stopped by Bryant police for an improper lane change at 4:05 a.m. Feb. 18.

Joshua Smith, 21, of Elvin Road, Little Rock, was also charged with possession of a controlled substance after suspected marijuana was found in the pickup truck. A 31-year-old passenger was also taken into custody after both men denied knowledge of the drug, but Smith later admitted it was his.

Smith was stopped at Exit 123 after he turned onto the entrance ramp from the right lane of the south access road at I-30 mile 122.

A traffic stop for no license plate led to a DWI charge on a Benton man on Feb. 25.

Michael Grill, 20, was eastbound on Edison Avenue in a 1993 Ford Thunderbird. He tested 0.07 BAC at Saline County jail, and was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license.

An obscene word was written on her driveway between 3-3:45 p.m. Feb. 22, a Richards Street woman told Benton police.

A suspect in a white 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck pumped $40.01 of gasoline at Murphy's USA in Benton and drove off without paying on Feb. 22, a clerk told police. The truck was registered to a Traskwood address.

Public-intoxication charges were filed on an Alexander woman after she refused to leave the home of her husband's ex-wife in Bryant.

Teresa D. McPeak, 28, of Sierra Drive, failed a field sobriety test and tested 0.24 on a portable breath test. She was taken to Saline County jail.