Mena woman arrested after allegedly driving stolen vehicle in Hot Springs

A Mena woman was arrested Wednesday night after she was allegedly caught driving a luxury sedan that was reported stolen in Hot Springs last year.

Nancy Kathleen Spencer, 55, of a Mena address, was taken into custody shortly after 9:30 p.m. and charged with theft over $5,000, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Spencer was held on $3,500 bail and is scheduled to appear in Garland County District Court on August 12. According to court records, she was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia in Polk County on January 11, 2021, and sentenced to three years of probation.

According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after 9:30 p.m., Garland County Sheriff’s Sergeant Matthew Cogburn was conducting “selective traffic enforcement” in the area of ​​Albert Pike and Old Bear Roads when he noticed a black Cadillac CTS without license plate lights traveling east on Albert Pike.

He reached the vehicle and checked the license plate on his mobile computer terminal, which allegedly showed that the vehicle had been reported stolen. He continued to pursue it and after confirming with dispatchers that it had been reported stolen to the Hot Springs Police Department, he radioed for backup.

Deputy Candice Presley, who was nearby, responded and Cogburn initiated a traffic stop near Musket Street, but the driver, later identified as Spencer, did not immediately stop and continued driving until she passed the second entrance to Jetson Loop, where she eventually pulled over.

Cogburn and Presley then conducted a traffic stop and ordered Spencer to get out of the vehicle at gunpoint. She was arrested and then they ordered the passenger to get out and arrested her.

HSPD reportedly confirmed that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of town on April 26, 2023, and the male victim, who valued the vehicle at $5,000, had indicated that Spencer was a possible suspect in the theft.