Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – A man is behind bars on a $100,000 cash/surety bond after police said a routine traffic stop led to a chase in Jonesboro, where he allegedly discarded over 25 grams of cocaine.
District Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause to charge 50-year-old Johnny Latroy Wilbourn, of Indianapolis, IN, with the following offenses:
- Possession of meth or cocaine greater than 10 grams but less than 200 grams (Class B felony)
- Tampering with physical evidence (Class D felony)
- Fleeing (Class D felony)
- Driving while license cancelled, suspended or revoked (Unclassified)
- No proof of liability insurance (Unclassified)
According to the probable cause affidavit, on June 7, 2025, officers stopped a vehicle at Neil Drive and Airport Road for unconfirmed insurance. They met with the driver, Wilbourn, and he told them the vehicle belonged to his sister.
After obtaining a copy of the vehicle’s insurance from the sister and confirming it was valid, officers asked for Wilbourn’s driver’s license. He pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of a Tennessee driver’s license. When running the number through dispatch, an Arkansas return for Wilbourn was found and showed that he had a suspended driver’s license through the state.
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When confronted about this information, Wilbourn looked at the officer and grabbed the gear shifter, saying he could not step out. Officers told Wilbourn not to drive off, but he ignored their request, putting the vehicle into drive and taking off. Police said Wilbourn drove through a gravel parking lot, almost hitting another officer who was responding to assist.
Wilbourn continued through Airport Road and Nettleton Avenue southbound onto Nelms Street. He went to the dead end, got out of the vehicle, and ran off. A K9 track was attempted, but police said the area was too contaminated with foot traffic for a track to be conducted.
Some time later, Agent Jeremy Parnell with the Second Judicial Drug Task Force went back to Neil Drive and Airport Road. There, he found a baggie that contained 25.55 grams of cocaine in the grass area near the gravel parking lot Wilbourn drove in.
Parnell went to a business where the traffic stop was conducted and asked staff about video surveillance of the area. It showed Wilbourn throwing a baggie from the driver’s side window and landing in the exact area it was found.
Nearly one year later, at 5:30 a.m. on May 21, Wilbourn was arrested and booked into the Craighead County Detention Center, according to the jail roster.
Wilbourn’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 26. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 32 years in prison and fines up to $35,000.
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