A 35-year-old Arnold man was arrested after an alleged physical altercation with police officers in the parking lot outside Dollar Tree, 906 Arnold Commons Drive. The officers approached the man after he and a passenger arrived in a car at the store and acted suspiciously, Arnold Police reported.
At about 7:15 p.m. March 10, the suspect, who was driving a 1999 Honda Accord, parked in the lot after slowly circling it a couple of times. Then he and the passenger got out of the car and allegedly looked around at other vehicles before going in and out of the store a few times, the report said.
Officers checked the license plate on the Accord and discovered the suspect’s driver’s license had been suspended. The officers approached the man during one of his trips from the store to the car, and he became angry, according to the report.
The suspect reportedly tried to walk away from the police, so one of the officers tried to grab him, but he pulled away, prompting other officers who had arrived at the scene to physically restrain him. During the altercation, the man allegedly reached into the waistband of his pants and allegedly pulled out a loaded syringe and threw it under a police vehicle, Arnold Police reported.
After the man was arrested, he reportedly apologized to the officers and told them he had recently relapsed. The driver was arrested and taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for warrants, the report said.
Depending on results of the drug analysis, Arnold Police will seek charges against him through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest, Detective Lt. Jason Valentine said.
The passenger did not have anything illegal on him and was released at the scene, according to the report.