By Ray King
A $1,000 bond was set Friday for a Pine Bluff man arrested after a traffic stop by an Arkansas State Trooper who saw the man holding a cellphone while driving.
Tyrone Marks, 52, was taken into custody after Trooper Nathan Jynes smelled the odor of intoxicants and a BA test resulted in a reading of .19, twice the legal limit.
While conducting an inventory of Marks’ vehicle, Jines located a container with three bags of suspected marijuana and a Ruger handgun that had been reported stolen.
During the court hearing Friday, Deputy Prosecutor Ty Spradlin said Jines was traveling south at the intersection of Miramar and Bay when he saw a vehicle driven by Marks turn north on Miramar and saw that Marks had a cell phone in his left hand.
When Marks was questioned, he told Jines he did not have a cell phone.
Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth found probable cause to charge Marks with theft by receiving firearm and told him to come back to court March 3.
