A Springfield man is in the Texas County Jail on $750,000 bond and faces a trio of felony charges after a Cabool Police Department investigation on Friday.
Richard T. Walton, 42, of 1046 W. Madison St. in Springfield, is charged with felonies of possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a firearm.
According to a Cabool officer’s report, the officer responded to a woman’s report that an unknown man was beating on the door of her Summit Avenue residence. Upon arrival, the officer observed a man matching the suspect’s description pouring fuel from a gas can into the tank of a Toyota pickup.
The officer made contact with the man – Walton – and he reportedly said he was trying to see a buddy who used to live at the residence but must have moved.
The officer reported that Walton gave a false name and age, and when another officer who had responded tried to handcuff him, he ran. But the first officer deployed his taser and Walton fell in the street and was detained.
During a subsequent search, a loaded .22 caliber revolver was found in a shoulder holster under the vest Walton was wearing, police said. Inside the truck, five clear capsules containing a white powder were located, along with several items of drug-related paraphernalia. The capsules were sent to a lab for analysis.
Walton was also reportedly found to have five active warrants, including a capias probation violation out of Greene County.
A pit bull was removed by an animal control officer and was bit, but it didn’t break the skin.