Paragould, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A Paragould man is facing several felony charges after police said he was in possession of drugs and a firearm near children.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Paragould Police Department investigators conducted a traffic stop on 37-year-old Charles Bright on June 30 for driving on a suspended driver’s license. Police noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle when they approached.

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Bright told officers he had a blunt in the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Bright’s child, who is under the age of 13, was sitting in the passenger seat.

Police conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle, during which they found a jar of pills of suspected ecstasy, a bag of marijuana weighing 108 grams, and nine Diazepam pills. In the vehicle’s back hatch, police found a shoe box holding two bags of suspected meth, weighing a combined 1.27 pounds.

Officers later obtained a search warrant for Bright’s home, during which they found 3.3 pounds of suspected meth, an AR-15, 15 Xanax bars, two grams of suspected MDMA, a marijuana vape, a scale with a white crystal residue, a bong, as well as multiple boxes of ammo and miscellaneous paraphernalia.

There was a total of four juveniles in the home, with both the suspected meth and firearm accessible to them, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit noted that Bright had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter in August 2022, and that his home was approximately 833 feet from the Ram Academy in the Paragould School District.

Bright is charged with the following:

• Trafficking a controlled substance, Class Y felony
• Simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, Class Y felony
• Possession of Schedule I or II that is not meth or cocaine with purpose to deliver, a Class A felony
• Possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class B felony
• Possession of firearms by certain persons, a Class B felony
• Unlawful use of a communication device, a Class C felony
• Possession of a Schedule VI with purpose to deliver, a Class D felony
• Four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, a Class D felony
• Possession of Schedule IV, V with purpose to deliver, a Class D felony
• Driving while license is canceled, suspended, or revoked
• Proximity to certain facilities

Bright’s bond was set to $500,685, according to online jail records.

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