LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas State Police (ASP) Troopers have seized more than 775 pounds of illegal narcotics and arrested multiple suspects in a series of recent traffic stops across the state.
On Wednesday, February 17, around 4:15 p.m., Troopers stopped a grey sedan on Interstate 40 eastbound near the 2-mile marker in Crawford County for a traffic violation. A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 45 pounds of illegal marijuana in vacuum‑sealed packages in the trunk. The passenger Jatorria Lewis, of Memphis, was arrested and booked into the Crawford County Detention Center on felony drug charges. The ride‑booking service driver who Lewis was using was released with a traffic warning. Lewis was traveling from Oklahoma City to Little Rock.
On Monday, February 16, around 7 a.m., the U.S. Marshals Service alerted ASP that they had lost pursuit of a vehicle in Memphis. Troopers later located the vehicle and the suspect, Gevonte Brown, 24, of Memphis, in a hotel parking lot in Marion. Troopers approached Brown who fled on foot but was quickly apprehended. Troopers recovered 19 pounds of marijuana and two firearms, one confirmed stolen. Brown, who had outstanding Tennessee warrants, was transported to the Crittenden County Detention Center on multiple felony charges.
On Friday, February 6, around 7:45 a.m., a Trooper stopped a Nissan Rogue on Interstate 30 eastbound near the 88‑mile marker in Hot Spring County. A search revealed approximately 115 pounds of methamphetamine in multiple cardboard boxes. The driver, Pedro Lorenzo Valdez, 45, was arrested and booked into the Hot Spring County Detention Center on felony Trafficking a Controlled Substance and related charges. Valdez told investigators he was traveling from Dallas to Little Rock.
On Thursday, January 29, around 5:30 p.m., a Trooper stopped a Sprinter van on Interstate 40 eastbound near Carlisle. Troopers discovered 24 trash bags containing about 600 pounds of illegal marijuana and 15 boxes of THC products. The driver, Kemal Malicbegovic, 44, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was arrested and transported to the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Detention Center where he was booked on felony charges of Trafficking a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Malicbegovic told investigators he was traveling from Los Angeles to Greensboro.
