Several people received time in prison after changing their pleas during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
Betsey Coplen of Mountain Home was given five years in prison after pleading guilty to various drug-related offenses.
The 34-year-old Coplen had two active cases from last year and also faced charges stemming from an arrest in late January. In that incident, an Arkansas State Trooper stopped a vehicle in which Coplen was a passenger. The trooper reported the strong odor of marijuana coming from the passenger compartment of the truck.
When the vehicle was searched, several items of drug paraphernalia were found. In her earlier cases, Coplen was charged with possessing and selling methamphetamine and unlawful use of a communications device in furtherance of her drug activity. It was also alleged that Coplen sold 3.6 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in late October of last year.
Shelby Chevallier of Mountain Home was also sentenced to a five-year prison sentence on drug-related charges.
The 23-year-old Chevallier pled guilty to charges lodged against her in three active cases. Some of the charges stemmed from a search warrant that was served on an address along Maple Street in early November last year.
According to court records, the search turned up quantities of marijuana, methamphetamine, paraphernalia used for the ingestion of methamphetamine and plastic bags and scales used in the distribution of narcotics.
Ricky Swift, who lists an address in Farmington in the northwestern part of the state, was given a four-year prison sentence on drug-related charges after changing his plea to guilty.
The 47-year-old Swift was arrested in August last year when a Mountain Home police officer responded to a reported break-in at a residence. When the officer arrived, Swift was seen exiting the house.
During a pat down, Swift was found to have a small plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance the officer recognized as methamphetamine.
At the time of his arrest last year, Swift was reported to have been on active parole.
Joseph Killinger, who is currently an inmate in the North Central Unit of the state prison system at Calico Rock, was given three years in prison to be served along with his present sentence.
The 71-year-old Killinger was arrested in January after parole officers made a home compliance check at Killinger’s residence along County Road 835 in the Henderson area. Officers reported they found small plastic bags containing a residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine as well as paraphernalia used to ingest methamphetamine.
It was noted at the time of his arrest that Killinger had a lengthy criminal history with felony convictions dating back to 1964. The crimes included aggravated assault and the distribution of cocaine and stolen property.
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