Prayer leads to arrest

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Tina Ramer
Tina Ramer

MAYSVILLE - Good police work and prayer led to the capture and arrest of a wanted fugitive near Maysville on April 19.

After receiving information from Arkansas State Police Cpl.Lori Whillock that Tina Ramer, 27, of Sulphur Springs, was wanted on multiple warrants out of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, andthat she was known to drive a silver-colored Nissan car on the west side of the county, state trooper Jesse Woodham prayedthat God would let him find this fugitive from justice if she was out on the highways during his shift that Tuesday.

“I prayed, ‘Lord, let me find this person and catch her,’ as I was on (Arkansas) Highway 59. I drove west out of Gravette on (Arkansas Highway) 72 and turned south at Maysville, and the first car I saw was a silver-colored Nissan,” Woodham said.

The Nissan’s driver matched Ramer’s description and she wasn’t wearing a seat belt, giving Woodham probable cause to stop the car.

Woodham followed the Nissan onto State Line Road and put on his blue lights as the car turned into a chicken farm.

“I had been told she might be armed,” Woodham said, “so I stood behind my door and ordered the driver to get out of the car and come back to me.”

Instead of complying, the driver, later identified as Ramer, fled on foot into the area of the chicken houses.

“She said, ‘What are you going to do to me?,’ and ran into the chicken houses,” Woodham said.

Woodham received assistance in his search for Ramer from law-enforcement agencies in Gravette, Decatur, Benton County, West Siloam Springs (Okla.) and Delaware County (Okla.), including a canine from Benton County.

Ramer began moving from chicken house to chicken house during the search and was captured, Woodham said.

Ramer was also found tobe in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and a pipe, Woodham said.

In addition to the out-ofstate warrants, Ramer was, according to the Benton County Jail website, being held on charges of not wearing a seat belt, driving on a suspended or revoked license, fleeing, failure to appear on misdemeanor warrants out of Benton County and Bentonville, felony possession of a controlled substance and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.

Woodham said he told Ramer after her arrest that she was caught on that day because of a prayer offered up earlier on his shift.

It is, after all, hard to escape from God.

News, Pages 1 on 04/27/2011