A local man arrested outside his residence after a brief standoff with Hot Springs police Tuesday morning allegedly had marijuana and his 3-year-old daughter in the car with him and had fled from an officer earlier.
Antonio Lamar Loudermilk, 23, of 217 Oaklawn Ave., was taken into custody shortly before 11 a.m. and charged with misdemeanor counts of fleeing in a vehicle and possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, each punishable by up to one year in jail, and a lesser charge of resisting arrest.
Loudermilk, who had a warrant for failure to appear, was later released on a $4,750 bond and is set to appear May 12 in Garland County District Court. He also had some warrants from other jurisdictions that were not extraditable.
According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police spotted a red 2001 Honda Accord with a gray front bumper in the 3300 block of Central Avenue that was believed to be driven by a felony warrant suspect. The car pulled over in the parking lot of Kroger, 3341 Central, but had left by the time officers arrived on scene.
About 10 minutes later, Officer Thomas Plummer spotted the car again at Dollar General, 3310 Central Ave., and saw a black male in his 20s get into the driver's seat. The car backed out and drove toward Higdon Ferry Road. The description of the wanted suspect was also a black male in his 20s, so Plummer followed the car as it turned onto Higdon Ferry in the 700 block.
"Based on the quick vehicle maneuvers and the report of the vehicle being operated by a wanted person," Plummer said he activated his lights and siren to make a traffic stop in about the 600 block of Higdon Ferry. The driver, later identified as Loudermilk, did not stop and continued for three-quarters of a mile "through heavy vehicle traffic" until it reached 217 Oaklawn where it finally stopped.
Once at his residence, Loudermilk reportedly began honking his horn "to alert members of the residence" and then refused officers' commands to exit the vehicle for "nearly 10 minutes." Loudermilk allegedly refused to move his hands or get out and repeatedly stated to officers "that we were going to shoot him," Plummer said, and told officers to come to his vehicle.
Loudermilk finally surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident. He allegedly told officers he had some marijuana in his jacket pocket and they retrieved 9.3 grams and took it into evidence.
It was noted Loudermilk's daughter was in the car at the time of the stop, but she was not injured.
Local on 04/02/2020