Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

DWI suspect crashes

Ten minutes after the Gurdon Police Department received a call regarding a drunk driver, Ryan Lee Griffin, 26, 1698 Red Springs Road, crashed his blue Ford Ranger into a ditch and flipped it, according to police reports.

Sunday, March 9, at 3:32 p.m., a Prescott woman called the police department and reported to police that she saw the vehicle all over the road, and it was headed into Gurdon from Kansas Road.

According to the report, she witnessed the accident and saw the vehicle flip once, and ran to see who it was and if they were OK, to which the suspect replied, Im good.

Griffin reportedly asked the witness whose yard he was in and told her not to let them call police because he had weed.

The police department received another call from the witness, informing them of the wreck, which happened near 10th Street.

Gurdon Officer Chris Russell arrived on the scene and, as he approached Griffin, the man reportedly walked away from Russell and headed behind a house.

According to the report, Russell told Griffin several times to stop, which he refused to do.

Russell then ran behind the house as Griffin came out with his hands in the air. He had Ryan lie on the ground and placed him in cuffs. According to the report, Russell smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Griffin.

The Prescott woman and a witness from Mena told Russell that they had seen Griffin throw a yellow bag behind the house.

Russell went behind the house and found the yellow bag that contained a green, leafy substance he believed to be marijuana.

Gurdon Officer Darrin Cooper arrived on scene to transport Griffin to the Clark County Sheriffs Office for a breath test.

Russell patted Griffin down and reportedly found another small bag of the same leafy substance in his shirt pocket. Griffin told him that it was marijuana, according to the report.

A loaded 12-gauge shotgun was also found in Griffins vehicle, and he registered a blood alcohol content of 0.215 percent.

He as arrested on one count of Driving While Intoxicated, a misdemeanor; one count of driving with a suspended license, a misdemeanor; one count of carrying a weapon, a misdemeanor; and one count of possession of a controlled substance. If convicted for the charges on the possession charges, a Class C felony, Griffin could face 3- 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Griffin is being held at the Clark County Sheriffs Office until his court hearing.