On March 11, 2026, at approximately 9:10 a.m., two suspects entered Portland Drug Store in Portland, Arkansas, wearing all black and armed with handguns. The suspects ordered the clerk and pharmacist to their knees at gunpoint. One of the suspects then took the pharmacist to the area where medications were stored and loaded a large quantity of narcotic medication into a white trash bag. Both suspects then fled the store on foot, traveling south, and entered a gray four-door Kia Forte.
The Ashley County Sheriff’s Department, along with citizens of Portland, Arkansas, worked diligently for several days collecting evidence and reviewing video surveillance; however, the identities of the suspects were initially unknown.
On March 18, 2026, a pharmacy in Redfield, Arkansas, was robbed by two suspects, and a vehicle matching the description of the one used in the Portland robbery was identified. The Little Rock Police Department and Arkansas State Police pursued the suspect vehicle, ultimately ending the pursuit on Interstate 40 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Ashley County investigators traveled to Arkansas State Police Headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, where they worked alongside the Arkansas State Police and Redfield Police Department to gather statements and evidence.
Through this collaborative effort, investigators were able to identify and arrest Dedrick Dewon Thompson, age 39, of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Kadarius Ishmaiah James, age 22, also of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Thompson and James are currently being held at the Ashley County Detention Center and are charged with Aggravated Robbery.
On March 20, 2026, Circuit Judge Robert Gibson III conducted the suspects’ first judicial appearance, during which bond was set at $1,000,000.
I, Ashley County Sheriff Tommy Sturgeon would like to thank the Arkansas State Police, Redfield Police Department, Portland Police Department, investigators of the Ashley County Sheriff’s Department, and the citizens of Portland, Arkansas, for their hard work and dedication in bringing this case to a resolution.
