Saturday, November 7, 2009

Law and Order in the Ozarks (Part XXXIX): The third "M" is marijuana

My last Law and Order post was about moonshine and mushrooms, and today's is about marijuana. A front-page story in the Oct. 22, 2009 issue of the Newton County Times features this headline: "Marijuana discovered; suspect still at large." Here's an excerpt from the story:
Newton County Sheriff Keith Slape said an aggravated assault Thursday resulted in the discovery of large quantities of marijuana.

Slape said that Cameron Scott Bolin, 45, of Mt. Judea, allegedly went to the David Middleton residence in Mt. Judea where he shot the tires on two vehicles. Later in the day he returned and forced his way into the home where he brandished a weapon and threatened to kill a female at the residence.

A search warrant was issued for Bolin's home in Mt. Judea and officers from the Newton County Sheriff's Office, 14th Judicial Drug Task Force, Boone County Sheriff's Office, Arkansas Game and Fish, Arkansas State Police, and the Arkansas Highway Police executed the warrant and found marijuana that was being processed and weapons.

In an effort to locate Bolin, officers went to his neighbor's home ... to see if [the neighbor, Rondal Campbell] knew the whereabouts of Bolin. While there, officers noticed the odor of marijuana and after peering in the camper trailer at his residence and seeing some marijuana on the floor obtained a search warrant. During this time, Campbell returned to his residence and was captured.

Officers found 17 pounds of processed marijuana and a weapon in Campbell's residence.
A number of charges have been brought against Campbell, but Bolin remains at large.

Drug abuse is not the only theme that this story has in common with several of my past law and order posts; another is men behaving badly ... by which I refer to the aggravated assault more than to the marijuana.

Other front-page headlines in this issue include:
  • GPS messenger leads rescuers to injured hiker
  • More than $12,000 delivered to senior centers
  • Manager reports regional landfill operating at profit
By the way, the past few issues of the paper feature a nifty new layout.

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