A Jefferson County man is awaiting extradition to Clark County and faces charges of stealing a pickup truck shortly after his release from the local jail.

Clifton Eugene Tucker, 40, of Pine Bluff, remains in custody Tuesday at the Kaufman County Jail on police charges there of drug possession, tampering with evidence and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Police reports on file at the Arkadelphia Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office indicate that Tucker was traveling through the area and found himself behind bars for a series of misdemeanors. He was arrested for public intoxication on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 26, after his car broke down at Footsie’s Beer and Wine in Okolona. One person told deputies he had offered Tucker, who was walking along the road and appeared lost, a ride when he dove into the driver’s window and wouldn’t get out.

Tucker spent a night in jail for that incident, and upon his release the next day allegedly stole a bicycle from Phillips 66 on North 10th Street. He was soon apprehended near Haddock Street for that incident as well as reports he had committed lewd behavior in front of college girls at a local campus, and back to jail he went.

Court records made available this week note that Tucker was released from the Clark County Detention Center the following morning, about the same time a man phoned police to report his 2016 Dodge Ram pickup had been stolen from his workplace, the old Rolling T feed store at 380 Walnut St.

An affidavit filed by APD notes the stolen truck was parked “within a short walking distance” of the jail. 

On Jan. 29 officers from the Forney Police Department east of Dallas, Texas, arrested Tucker following a traffic stop on the stolen vehicle.

Clark County prosecutors have filed formal charges against Tucker for theft of a motor vehicle.