Rowland Mitchell of Midway, the only person arrested in an annual marijuana eradication operation, was in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him.
The eradication effort was conducted jointly by the Army National Guard, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
During the operation, helicopter spotters located a patch of cultivated marijuana plants at a residence along Posey Trail in Midway. The plants were found in a raised bed with a tank used as a water source for the plants.
As ground officers were converging on the location, a man could be seen chopping down and attempting to destroy the plants. The helicopter landed nearby and the man — later identified as the 52-year-old Mitchell — was arrested.
The precise number of plants could not be determined since Mitchell had chopped them into pieces.
When additional officers arrived, they found a portable greenhouse inside the residence described as being used to start marijuana plants indoors. A small amount of loose, processed marijuana was also found.
The portable greenhouse contained two homemade pots that Mitchell told officers contained marijuana seedlings. He identified several other plants as tomatoes and peppers. There was a “grow light” above the plants.
Mitchell was ordered to reappear in court September 21st.
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