Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – July 26, 2024 – Last weekend, JPD organized and implemented a “Saturation Detail” in Jonesboro. The agency called for outside help from the Arkansas State Police to aid in the event focused on saturating the area with law enforcement throughout the day and night on Friday, July 19.

Through a FOIA request sent on Monday, July 21 by JRN, we were able to obtain all emails related to the saturation sent between police admin, officers, and COJ admin.

The first email mentioning the saturation came on July 8. Captain Jim Chambers sent an email to Lieutenants Shon Morris and Michael McCanless stating, “On July 19 there will be a rapper at the Brickhouse on Main St. There are rumors that several groups of people from Blytheville will be coming to this. A couple of these groups recently got into a shootout in Blytheville, which officers drove into the middle of. JPD along with ASP will be conducting a saturation during this time.”

On July 9, Captain Trey Dupuy sent an email to the Police Reserve Unit and Part Time Unit along with Lieutenant Royce Smith and Chief Rick Elliott, “I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to inform you that the Chief has requested assistance from both the part-time and reserve units for an upcoming saturation detail scheduled for Friday, July 19th. This operation will be a multi-agency effort, and your group’s support would be greatly valued.”

Another email states, “There is an event at the Brickhouse from 2200-0200 that may bring in some outside groups that may start trouble.”

The same email goes on to say, “We will be doing traffic stops and extra patrol in some problem areas that will be covered Friday.”

Another email mentions the possibility of a DWI checkpoint being set up.

Documents included in the FOIA request state that several law enforcement agencies and divisions were included in the saturation: Police Administration, Criminal Investigation Division, Probation and Parole, JPD Reserve and Part Time officers, and other specialized units.

In an email sent from Captain Scott Baker to the Criminal Investigation Division, Drug Task Force, and Street Crimes Unit, he explains that “they” came up with a list of “major players” several weeks prior: “Here is a major players list we came up with a few weeks ago. Some are incarcerated now and are listed in the email attached from probation and parole.”

The document attached to the email is a list of 19 individuals with names, addresses, vehicles, and prior charges listed.

The Monday after the Friday, July 19 event, Chief Elliott sent an email to Mayor Harold Copenhaver, Brian Richardson, Tony Thomas, and Donna Malone stating, “I have attached the stat sheet from Friday.”

Jonesboro Police Department
City Criminal Enforcement
19th, July 2024

ASP and JPD Combined Total Contacts
Felony Arrest: 5
Misdemeanor Arrest: 32
Search Warrant: 1
Probation/Parole Search: 6
Traffic Stops: 292
DWI Arrest: 5
Citations: 110
Warnings: 141
Guns: 2
Cash Seized: $3,974.00
Reports: 5
Vehicle Searches: 47

When looking through all reports released by JPD from the weekend event, JRN noted 41 separate reports that included drug charges and/or warrants served between Friday morning and Monday morning. Many were direct results of traffic stops.