Two Cleveland County residents were among five people arrested following a traffic stop in White Hall last Thursday, Aug. 29, that left two White Hall Police officers needing medical attention after coming into contact with fentanyl.The two suspects from Cleveland County who were arrested were Michael Branson, 51, and Justin Wooten, 40. According the Jefferson County Jail log, both were listed as being from Rison.In addition, Brittany Billings, 35, of Pine Bluff; Skylar Rauls, 30, of Pine Bluff; and Mack Faulkner, 22, no residence given, were arrested. All five suspects were charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance (fentanyl); one count each of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia. Additionally, Wooten has been charged with one count of obstructing governmental operations.According to an affidavit released by White Hall Police Lt. Clayton Cantrell, Wooten was driving a red Jeep Patriot with expired tags when officers initiated a traffic stop. Wooten gave several different names to officers before finally revealing his actual name. Wooten and the other occupants of the vehicle began acting nervous, according to the affidavit, leading to officers asking for consent to search the vehicle.Wooten and Branton, who owns the Jeep, gave consent to search it at that time.During the search, officers located a "bomb like device" in the backseat of the vehicle that held a white powdery substance that field tested for methamphetamines and fentanyl. Officers also found a broken smoking pipe in the glove box of the vehicle.Additional officers responded to the scene when an officer quickly became disoriented, light headed, and began sweating excessively. The officer walked back to his patrol vehicle where he slumped over and lost consciousness. Another officer then administered Narcan (a medication that reverses the effects of an opioid ove...
To access content, please login or purchase a subscription.