November 23, 2016
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
An Elk City man is in jail on a $100-thousand-dollar bond after police arrested him on warrants but found he allegedly brought a number of loose pills into jail.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police were recently dispatched to a home in Elk City in regard to outstanding warrants for 43-year-old Donny Wayne Mathes.
Officers found Mathes arriving at the residence in the 100 block of Virginia Street. He stopped when officers asked, but attempted – a number of times – to access his cell phone and reach into his pockets. A search of Mathes reportedly turned up nothing illegal and he was placed in hand restraints and seated in a patrol unit.
Returning to the police department, officers found that Mathes had “slipped his cuffs,” meaning that he’d moved them from the initial position behind his back to the front of his body.
Allegedly, an empty plastic baggie and two white pills were found in the patrol unit where Mathes was sitting. When officers performed an additional search of Mathes’ clothing, the report says they found a green pill bottle containing 22 loose pills, a small baggie with one pill and another baggie with 10 pills. Additionally, one white pill was in his left shoe and four were in his left sock.
Mathes told police that he’d taken four pills shortly prior to his arrest and that he’d been taking four or five pills per day and has been for about four or five years for back pain.
The pills were in a prescription bottle, labeled and prescribed by a local physician. Police identified the pills as acetaminophen and hydrocodone, a schedule 2, controlled substance.
When asked if he was a drug dealer or someone that has to do it, he said, “I have to do it. I don’t have a choice.”
He also said that “times are hard right now’ and that he doesn’t have money to pay off his warrants and he was about to lose his truck.
The police report says the prescription was filled on Friday, November 18 for 90 pills and when he was arrested the next day, Saturday the 19th, there were 39 pills left.
He’s been arrested on a felony charge of possession of contraband along with Beckham and Canadian County warrants.
He’s due in Beckham County District Court for a preliminary hearing on December 20.
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