Monticello Live

On December 10, 2024, Detective Ben Hines of the Monticello Police Department conducted a traffic stop after observing what appeared to be a physical altercation between the driver and passenger of a vehicle. As he approached the car, Detective Hines testified that he saw the defendant, Ms. Shook, place her hand near the side of her seat. A subsequent search of the vehicle by Hines and other officers led to the discovery of a glass pipe—commonly used to ingest methamphetamine—stuffed in the seat where Ms. Shook’s hand had been seen. Ms. Shook was taken into custody, fingerprinted at the jail, and later released.

Ms. Shook was charged as a habitual offender based on her three prior convictions. Under Arkansas law, a person may be designated a habitual offender if they have multiple prior felony convictions. At the time of her arrest, Ms. Shook had three prior convictions for drug paraphernalia from events that arose on July 28^th, 2020, October 27^th,  2020, and December 31^st, 2020, all for possession of drug paraphernalia used to ingest methamphetamine. She had completed probation on those offenses in January 2024.

A jury trial was held on June 24, 2025, at the Drew County Courthouse. Jurors heard testimony from Detective Hines, other responding officers, and an expert from the Arkansas State Crime Lab who tested the glass pipe and confirmed the presence of methamphetamine residue.

After considering all the evidence presented at trial, the jury found Ms. Shook not guilty.

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The driver of this Honda Accord lost control of her vehicle while traveling on Highway 83 South, north of the 425 intersection, just before 5 PM on Friday.

DCSO, MFD, OEM, and Reggie‘s Wrecker responded.

The driver was transported to Baptist Drew, by SEEMS.

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According to MPD chief Carlos Garcia,

Lee Busby, an Edward Jones financial advisor in Monticello, recently received the firm’s Service Award for 25 years of hard work and enthusiasm with Edward Jones.

The Service Award is first earned after five years of service at the firm and at every five-year increment thereafter.

“I can’t believe it’s been 25 years,” Busby said. “This firm has proved to be everything I expected. It is truly dedicated to individual investors and understanding each investor’s unique financial goals. For that reason, I am proud to represent this firm in South Arkansas.”

Busby and senior branch office administrators Karen Withers and Penny Sturgis can be reached at 611 W Bolling St. in Monticello, or by phone at (870)367-5347. You may also visit Lee Busby’s website at www.edwardjones.com/us-en/financial-advisor/lee-busby.

Edward Jones is a leading North American financial services firm with more than 20,000 financial advisors. The firm serves more than 9 million clients with a total of $2.2 trillion in client assets under care as of March 28, 2025. Edward Jones’ purpose is to partner for positive impact to improve the lives of its clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. Through the dedication of the firm’s approximately 55,000 associates and our branch presence in 68% of U.S. counties and most Canadian provinces and territories, the firm is committed to helping more people achieve financially what is most important to them. The Edward Jones website is at www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting website is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.