Dora man hit with firearms charges after stop for driving without a license

Gregory Broya Hambelton, 51, of Dora, was released from custody of the Ozark County Jail July 28 on an OR (own recognizance) bond in a case in which he’s charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and driving without a valid license. He is scheduled to appear in Ozark County court at 9 a.m. Aug. 15 before Associate Judge Raymond Gross for a plea hearing or trial setting. He was arrested July 27 and arraigned the next day. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case, at 5:59 p.m. June 25, Ozark County Deputies Jeff Lane and Vesa Phelan initiated a traffic stop on the driver of a white Chevrolet Tahoe on County Road 326 off PP Highway. 

Hambelton, the driver, was believed to be driving the vehicle with a revoked license. The officers ran the driver’s license, and it came back as revoked or suspended. 

During the traffic stop there were two rifles in plain sight in the back seat of the Tahoe in reach of the suspect, the court documents say. Those firearms were a over-and-under 410 shotgun and an over-and-under single shot rifle. 

Hambelton is identified as a convicted felon based on a Dec. 4, 2018, conviction of possession of methamphetamine in Douglas County. Due to the prior conviction, it is illegal for him to possess a firearm.