Phillip Patrick Laurie of Mountain Home, who was allegedly trading rides for drugs while working on the midway during the 2017 Baxter County Fair, entered a no contest plea to the charges against him during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and was given five years probation.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, a deputy sheriff on patrol at the fair was approached by a patron concerning Laurie and said it had been alleged he had been trading rides for drugs.
The deputy and the manager of the company operating the midway rides at the fair approached Laurie and asked if he was in possession of drugs. Laurie is alleged to have admitted he was in possession of some marijuana. He was asked to empty his pockets and a blue bag was discovered containing two syringes, nine used fentanyl transdermal patches, two spoons and what appeared to be drug residue. An orange prescription bottled containing an unknown liquid was also found.
Laurie was also carrying a bottle of lemon juice commonly used to extract the remaining fentanyl from used transdermal patches which can then be ingested orally or injected intravenously.
The 26-year-old Laurie handed the deputy the blue bag, but then turned and fled on foot. He was arrested by officers from the Mountain Home Police Department a few days after the incident at the fair grounds at a private residence.
Laurie was sentenced under provisions of Act 346, meaning if he stays out of trouble during his probation period, he can apply to the court to have his record sealed.
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