By Ray King

A Pine Bluff man who allegedly tried to break into a house on Highway 79 south Tuesday was arrested after he tried to flee by jumping onto the driver’s side steps of a tractor-trailer hauling wood chips and clinging to the door until police pulled the truck over at Camden Road and Interstate 530.

Kelvin Locke, 44, was sweating heavily, said people were after him and that he had taken methamphetamine the day before.

The incident happened at about 8:33 a.m. when a sheriff’s deputy was sent to the house in the 4900 block of U.S. 79 after a witness called to report that someone was trying to break into a house. Pine Bluff Police were able to stop the truck with Locke clinging to it eight minutes later.

During a court hearing on Wednesday, Deputy Prosecutor Jay Girard said the deputy went to the house that Locke was allegedly trying to break into and found a clear bag containing a crystal-like substance that was believed to be methamphetamine. The suspected drugs will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis.

Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set a $10,000 bond for Locke after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge him with possession of a controlled substance. The Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent Locke.