ROGERS (KFSM) — The Rogers Police Department released an arrest report Monday (Jan. 4) belonging to a former Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was cited for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Former deputy Gabriel Cox, 19, and two others who were in the vehicle with him were originally stopped for speeding on W. New Hope Road just after midnight Saturday (Jan. 2), according to the arrest report. The two other people in the vehicle have been identified as Andrew Stoltman, 18, and the 17-year-old son of Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck.
When he was asked for his license, registration and insurance, Cox told the officer he didn’t have the registration for the vehicle and after handing over his license, Cox turned his wallet to the other side to show the officer his Benton County Sheriff’s Office badge, the arrest report states. While Cox was reaching for his insurance information, the officer noticed the smell of unburned marijuana coming from inside the pickup truck, according to the report.
When the officer asked Cox about the smell, Cox said he and his friends were smoking cigars and he was unfamiliar with the smell of marijuana as he had only worked at the sheriff’s office for four months, the report states. Cox then consented to a search of the vehicle.
After calling in a K-9 to search the pickup, officers found a thermos containing a smoking pipe, a marijuana grinder and a plastic bag containing suspected marijuana, according to the report.
Cox, Stoltman and Cradduck’s son all denied the items belonged to any of them and all three were cited for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, the report states.
Cradduck fired Cox the day after he was cited.
During a media conference Sunday (Jan. 3), Cradduck said several months ago Cox was homeless and unemployed and he felt like the right thing to do was to give him the opportunity for work at the sheriff’s office.
After passing a background check, drug test and lie detector test Cox was hired, according to Cradduck.
Cradduck said during that time, one of his political opponents went to the prosecutor’s office to accuse him of back-paying Cox, an allegation which the sheriff denies.
Both Cox and Stoltman have their court dates scheduled for March 22 and Cradduck’s son is set to be in court on Jan. 27.
