Authorities arrested a 51-year-old White Oak, TX man who was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle on Interstate 30 in Hopkins County Thursday evening.
Hunt County Sheriff’s Investigator Kenneth Peters notified Hopkins County officials at 6:25 p.m. July 30, 2020 that he had spotted a Hyundai Santa Fe with a license plate that showed it to be reported stolen. The vehicle was reported stolen in Longview, TX. The SUV was traveling east on I-30 near mile marker 117.
Cumby Police Officer Nicholas Geer caught up to the SUV near mile marker 114 on I-30 east and followed it until additional law enforcement units could arrive to assist him. Deputy Kevin Lester and Sgt. Tanner Steward with Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office responded. Geer stopped the black vehicle at the 117 mile marker on I-30.
The driver was identified in arrest reports as 51-year-old Johnnie Roper Sargent of White Oak. The SUV contained at least one female passenger, a 31-year-old woman. Officers alleged a strong marijuana odor emitted from the vehicle. The passenger allegedly possessed a marijuana pipe at the time of the stop.
While speaking to one woman in the vehicle, officers noted her to appear to be physically ill. She told officers she’d recently been tested for COVID-19. Two occupants of the vehicle claimed it belonged to the 31-year-old’s mother. Lester attempted to contact the woman’s mother, but the call went to a voicemail box that was full. A scale which appeared to have methamphetamine residue was found in the vehicle. The 31-year-old allegedly admitted to Steward that she had a pipe on her. She removed it from her bra and handed to the officer. The glass pipe, atype commonly used to smoke methamphetamine, contained a residue that also looked like methamphetamine.
The 31-year-old woman was released; officers anticipate filing charges “at-large” against her for the items found in her possession. Sargent was taken into custody at 7:05 p.m. and jailed on an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge, according to arrest reports. Sargent remained in Hopkins County jail Friday morning, July 31, according to jail reports.
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The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
