Law and Order in the Ozarks (Part LXXV): Catching up

It's been a very long time since I did a "law and order" post, and lots of news has accumulated while I've been grading exams, meeting manuscript deadlines, and launching a new semester of my Law and Rural Livelihoods course. Sadly, lots of crime news has accumulated, so I'll merely attempt to summarize:

Dec. 15, 2010: A 22-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of breaking into the Jasper Pharmacy and a storage building in March. He took 120 bottles of medication valued at almost $8,000, as well as several flat-screen computer monitors. The news report does not indicate what type of drugs he took. I wonder if they included oxycodone.

A 28-year-old woman, Constance Stephens, was sentenced to two years in prison for her mistreatment of a four-year-old boy. Stephens was apparently keeping the boy temporarily when the events occurred.

January 5, 2011: Arkansas Game & Fish Commission officers arrested two persons for elk and deer season violations. Linda Morgan of Fairview and Lewis Weeks of Marble Falls were arrested after officers located the carcasses of an elk and four deer on Weeks's property. Total bond for Weeks was set at $8,130. He was charged with "elk hunting violation, no hunting license, four counts of failure to tag deer, possession of a controlled substance, possession of an instrument of a crime, and driving on a suspended license" as well a "raptor violation" and "dog deer prohibitions." (Officers found a dead hawk in an outbuilding). Morgan, who was charged with aiding and abetting in a violation and for hunting without a license, had bond set at $500.

January 12, 2011: Billy W. Victory, age 36, was found guilty of non-support, a Class C felony, and ordered to pay restitution of nearly $24,0000. Payments of $100/month must be made until the obligation is satisfied. The defendant was ordered to pay $368 cash in child support before he could be released.

Judge Gordon Webb dropped drug charges against 56-year-old Jolene Stanbrough, due to insufficient evidence to support the prosecution. No details of the lack of evidence are provided, but Stanbrough had allegedly possessed three bags of methamphetamine weighting 4.5 ounces, along with .5 ounces of marijuana, a glass smoking pipe, and digital scales.

January 19, 2011: The sheriff arrested a 30-year-old Conway man for possession of child pornography on his computer. Apparently, the man had been engaged to a Newton County woman who had discovered the pornography The man is being held in the Boone County jail.

Josh Blanton, 23, was arrested for alleged theft of a vehicle and fleeing while law officers were in hot pursuit of him in the stole vehicle.

Jackie Len Campbell, 48 of Vendor, was scheduled for a January trial on charges of capital murder in the death of Alice Lloyd in June, 2010. The public defender has raised "mental disease or defect" as a defense, so the proceedings were stayed until the defendant can be evaluated. The original entry about the death is here.

Cameron Scott Bolin, 46, pleaded no contest to criminal charges stemming from an altercation at a Mt. Judea residence in October. 2009. Interestingly, the altercation took place the residence of David and Rhonda Middleton, of local crime family fame. Bolin allegedly fired a pistol at the tires of two vehicles in the front yard at the Middleton home. Later that same day, Bolin allegedly made a forced entry into the Middleton home and threatened the Middletons' daughter, Tracy Waits, with his pistol. Bolin was sentenced to three years probation in the plea deal. In addition, he must pay a $2,500 in fines, along with $595 in court costs and fees. Finally, he must make $100 in restitution to the Middletons. Finally, he must have no direct or indirect contact with the Middletons or their children.

February 9, 2011: A 41-year-old man, Jerrimie Brown, who was initially charged with conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine entered a no contest plea to lesser charges and was sentenced to a year on probation. Brown was also fined $500, assessed $150 in court costs, and $70 in fees. He was ordered to pay $720 in restitution. The charges stem from Brown's agreement to sell meth to a confidential informer. That confidential informer was accompanied by David and Rhonda Middleton (see January 19 entry above and many prior entries, such as this one and this one),who purchased the meth from Brown in neighboring Carroll County. The Middletons then returned to Newton County where they sold the meth. According to the affidavit, "Brown participated by directing David Middleton on how to 'deal with the Hispanics.'" This is very interesting in that Carroll County has a significant Latino/a population (14.4%, a phenomenon I wrote about in Latina/os, Locality and Law in the Rural South). But, it sounds as if Brown was Middletons' Carroll County supplier, and if the Middletons were to supply Newton County, they don't need much knowledge of Hispanics because few (less than 1%, just 38) are there.