A man, just out of prison in Mississippi, was arrested Thursday afternoon in Independence County and now faces felony charges.
Independence County Sheriff Shawn Stephens said Sgt. Chris Toland was called to Shultz Lane to assist the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections.
Probation and parole officers had gone there to locate a man who had not been reporting. They didn’t see him at the residence, but there were three others including Jeremy McCollum.
McCollum was acting “very nervous” and constantly putting his hands in and out of his pockets,according to officers. When he was searched, Officer Brian Gould found a hard-shell glass case containing two loaded syringes with a liquid that tested positive as methamphetamine, along with three empty syringes, and a bent metal spoon with residue on it.
McCollum, 34, just got out of prison in Mississippi after being found guilty of residential burglary and theft, according to Sheriff Stephens. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 22 years suspended.
The sheriff said this incident was the first time illegal drugs will appear on McCollum’s record, which dates back to 2003. Sheriff Stephens also noted that this is the fifth drug-related arrest his department has made in this same immediate area.
The two charges McCollum face are: felony possession of a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine, and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.
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