Five individuals were booked into Hopkins County jail on controlled substance charges over the past week. Among them was a teen who set off a vape sensor in a school restroom and a pedestrian who complained he was being followed by someone in a vehicle, but was found to have drug paraphernalia and a controlled substance concealed in his body.
Pedestrian Complaint
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Fite responded at 1:52 p.m. Tuesday in Brashear, where a man told dispatchers he was being followed by a vehicle while walking.
Fite reportedly contacted the man at a FM 2653 church. He noted the 43-year-old Cumby man to be visibly shaking, reportedly in fear of the vehicle returning. He asked for the man’s ID and whether he had any weapons. Leland Randolph Nelson Jr. handed the deputy his driver’s license as well as two small knives.
The deputy relayed the information to dispatchers and requested a records check, then returned to ask the man to empty his other pockets. He complied, removing a small straw with suspected meth residue inside of it. Fite took Nelson into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia at 2:56 p.m. Oct. 4, 2022, according to arrest reports.
While being booked into HCSO jail, staff reported finding a small glass vial containing a crystal-like substance suspected to be methamphetamine wedged in the defendant’s posterior body cavity. The vial weighed 4.07 grams, including contents, Fite alleged in arrest reports.
Nelson was booked into Hopkins County at 4:29 p.m. on possession of a misdemeanor amount of drug paraphernalia as well as possession of more than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance. Because the man was at a church, about 115 meters from the playground which is accessible to the public, when arrested, a drug-free zone enhancement was added to the controlled substance charge.
The 43-year-old Cumby man remained in Hopkins County jail Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. Bond was set at $10,000 on the controlled substance charge, according to jail records.
Vape Sensor
Sulphur Springs ISD Police Officer TC Abron was called to the office at the high school after a vape sensor was triggered in the ladies’ restroom in the 200 hall at school Tuesday, according to arrest reports.
A 17-year-old said to have been responsible had been taken to the office by an administrator. The Alasialeigh Renee Delgado allegedly admitted to having a vape pen containing THC in her possession, Abron noted in arrest reports.
The youth was taken into custody and transported to the county jail, where she was booked in at 1:07 p.m. Oct. 4, 2022, for possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance in a drug-free zone. The teen spent the night in jail and was released Wednesday morning, Oct. 5, 2022, on a $3,000 bond on the charge, according to jail reports.
Warrant Service
When Sulphur Springs Police Officers Victor Reyna and Francisco Castro arrived at 3:40 p.m. Monday at Francisco Manuel Velasco’s Hodge Street residence to serve him with a warrant, Castro reported seeing the 29-year-old in the residence.
The officers entered and detained the man. While doing so, they reported seeing a bag with suspected methamphetamine in it on a couch in front of Velasco. In the Sulphur Springs man’s backpack, police reported finding a glass pipe of the kind used to smoke meth, with what appeared to be meth residue on it, as well as a bag containing a substance the man allegedly claimed could be cocaine. Velasco also had another glass pipe with meth residue on him, the police officers claimed in arrest reports.
Velasco was taken into custody at 3:48 p.m. Monday on the Hopkins County warrant for violation of probation, which he was on for an arson charge. The suspected cocaine tested negative but the other substance tested positive for meth. As a result, Velasco (who is also known by Franny Velasco and Cisco) was booked into the county jail at 5:12 p.m. Oct. 3, 2022, on the warrant as well as a new possession of less than 1 gram of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance charge, according to arrest reports.
Abandoned Vehicle
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Josh Davis and Justin Wilkerson responded at 2:02 a.m. Oct. 4, 2022, to a complaint of a vehicle abandoned on the mile marker 142 exit ramp from I-30. Upon arrival, deputies reported there was indeed an abandoned vehicle, a red pickup with front end damage and a blown front tire he recognized as a Chevrolet Silverado he’d seen on the south I-30 service road at mile marker 136 earlier in his shift.
The occupants from the vehicle had claimed they were just waiting on a tow truck to remove the vehicle from the exit ramp, where it presented a road hazard. A female and two juveniles then walked down the ramp. Although there was a partial language barrier, the deputies ascertained two males in the truck had walked to try to get help. One deputy gave the female and juveniles a courtesy escort.
A deputy then spotted the two males from the truck walking near I-30 on County Line Road, and advised the female and juveniles had already gotten a ride with the other deputy, then offered to give them a ride to the same location, but needed to determine whether they had weapons or anything illegal before he could transport them anywhere. Lucio Ibarra Valadez began pulling items out of his pocket, then handed the deputy his wallet. The deputy reported finding a baggy containing suspected methamphetamine in Valadez’s wallet. The substance, which weighed 1.2 grams, field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Thus, the deputy took the 28-year-old Franklin, Tennessee man into custody at 3:22 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, and transported him to jail instead of the location where the others had been taken.
Valadez was booked into Hopkins County jail at 4:36 a.m. Oct. 4 and remained there Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in lieu of the $5,000 bond set on the possession of 1 gram or more but less than 4 grams of a Penalty Group 1/1-B controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.
Obstructed Traffic
Sulphur Springs Police Cpl. Chris Rosamond and Zack Davis stopped to check on Donald Wayne Dowling at 9:33 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, whose Volvo tractor was reported to be obstructing traffic; the rig was parked facing oncoming traffic in the left turn lane on Wildcat Way.
While speaking with the man, the officer reported signs of of narcotic intoxication by the 66-year-old truck driver and asked him to exit the truck. A records check using the Jarrell, Texas man’s information showed prior narcotics convictions. So, the officer asked for permission to search the truck. When he refused, a K-9 was requested and the officer had Dowling wait in front of his patrol vehicle. After a while, police noticed he was sweating heavily despite the coolness of the night. Police then noticed a bag containing large crystal-like shards suspected to be methamphetamine on the ground at the front bumper of the police vehicle, where Dowling had been standing. The bag hadn’t been there previously, Rosamond reported in arrest reports.
Dowling was placed into custody and the police dog arrived to conduct a sniff search around the vehicle. The dog gave a positive alert on the vehicle, so the officers searched the interior of the cab. They did not find any contraband in the truck. The Jarrell man was arrested and taken to jail, where he was booked in at 10:42 p.m. Sept. 28, 2022, for possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance. Dowling (who is jail reports show is also known by Don, Donnie, Wayne and Jim) remained in Hopkins County jail Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in lieu of $35,000 bond on the controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.
HCSO currently is unable to post on the jail’s public site new images, due to issues switching to a different computer system. Thus, only photos of individuals who were arrested and whose photos were posted prior to the start of the system conversion process. No photos were available Wednesday for Donald Wayne Dowling, Lucio Ibarra Valadez, Alasialeigh Renee Delgado and Leland Randolph Nelson Jr.
KSSTRadio.com publishes Sulphur Springs Police Department reports and news. The Police Department is located at 125 Davis St., Sulphur Springs, Texas. Non-emergency calls can be made to (903) 885-7602.
If you have an emergency dial 9-1-1.
The Sulphur Springs Police Department continues to serve its citizens with pride in its overall mission and will strive to provide the best possible police force in the 21st century.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
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.
