3 held in Izard County after stolen gun, drugs discovered

Kevin Barnes

Gregory Cook

Blake Giller


Izard County law enforcement is reporting an incident Tuesday where two men were found sleeping in a vehicle and it taking officers about 10 minutes to wake one of them.

According to the probable cause affidavits filed Thursday, law enforcement was dispatched to the intersection of State Highways 56 and 5 in Calico Rock for a suspicious vehicle with three subjects getting in and out of the SUV.

Upon arrival, one man was found asleep in the front seat of the vehicle, with a second asleep in the back seat. It reportedly took about 10 minutes to wake up the man in the back by tapping his foot with a flashlight.

A check of the vehicle’s license plate indicated it belonged to another SUV.

When the two men, identified as 29-year-old Gregory Cook of Mammoth Spring and 28-year-old Kevin Barnes of Koshkonong, exited the vehicle, the officer discovered a syringe containing a clear liquid in the door where Cook has been sitting. The officer then saw a shotgun between the console and seat, with its serial number scratched off. The shotgun was identified as stolen from Howell County, Missouri. Other drug paraphernalia was found in the vehicle, along with a small baggie with a crystalline substance on the ground next to the two men.

As the officer continued his search of the vehicle, a third man, later identified as 28-year-old Blake Giller of Salem, walked up to him. Giller said he had been looking for gasoline.

Cook and Giller gave conflicting stories as to why they were in the area.

The three are charged with the felony offenses of possession of a defaced firearm, theft by receiving, possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, and use or possession with the purpose to use drug paraphernalia.

Bonds for the three men were set at $40,000 each.

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