Update Mar 31, 2022 330pm
A Greenbrier man climbed up a tree Wednesday to escape Saline County Sheriff’s (SCSO) Deputies. The SCSO released a statement Thursday afternoon with more details from the incident and arrest of James Aaron Ballew, age 36.
In the early afternoon on March 30, 2022, a Deputy answered a call from dispatch saying there was a reckless driver at the corner of W. Sardis Road and N. Sardis Road. The Deputy stated he observed two people in the vehicle as it ran the stop sign and turned left while using the right blinker.
The deputy lost sight of the vehicle then saw it again in a driveway on Hogue Road with its hazard lights flashing. The Deputy approached the vehicle and asked where the other person in the vehicle went. The female driver said the passenger fled, jumping the fence of the property and took off running. While talking with the driver, the Deputy located two stolen firearms in the vehicle, along with suspected Methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Deputies later found the second suspect in the woods and began pursuing him when they heard two gun shots. The suspect was located hiding in a tree and was taken onto custody by Deputies. It was determined that an off duty Little Rock Officer had fired two shots at the suspect. The Officer said he believed the suspect pointed a weapon at him. The shots missed the suspect and were never located. The Little Rock Police Department is conducting an investigation regarding their officer discharging his firearm.
The suspect was transported to the Saline County Detention Center and booked for Simultaneous Possession of Drugs and Firearms, 2 Counts of Theft by Receiving, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Fleeing on Foot and Possession of a Firearm by Certain Persons.
