A one-car accident in Fort Smith that caught the attention of Barling Chief of Police Darrel Miner resulted in an one-hour manhunt and the the eventual arrest of a Fort Smith man on drug, fleeing and traffic charges.
Henry Ortiz, 32, of Fort Smith, was arrested for fleeing apprehension, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a schedule IV narcotic, and reckless driving after being apprehended hiding in th backseat of a seecond vehicle.
At 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Miner was traveling near the intersection of Burnham Road and Free Ferry Road when he witnessed a one vehicle accident. Chief Miner stopped to check on the crash and the lone occupant of the vehicle stuffed something in his pants and fled down Burnham Road.
Chief Miner was able to radio to responding units a description of the fleeing subject.
Units from Sebastian County Sherrif Office, Fort Smith Police Department and the Arkansas State Police were deployed in the area to search for the subject with a focus on the wooded area around Kelley Cabin off of Duncan Road.
A perimeter was set around the area.
After about an hour of searching, a SCSO Reserve Deputy spotted a suspicious vehicle that had been circling the area. He could see someone was sticking their headup from the backseat area.
A felony traffic stop was conducted by SCSO deputies onthe vehicle. The suspect was found in the vehicle hiding in the backseat.
The driver of the vehicle Ortiz was hiding in was interviewed and released.
As SCSO investigators continued to work on the case, a residential burglary was reported in the 900 block of South Elm in Fort Smith. Ortiz was interviewed by SCSO and confessed to being in the home stealing a laptop computer and a shirt.
He was subsequently charged by SCSO with theft by receiving and residential burglary. The property was returned to the homeowners.
Ortiz has since been released on bond.
