A Midway man, 55-year-old Charles Bazata Jr., was taken to Baxter Regional Medical Center after he reportedly ingested an ounce of methamphetamine when officers arrived to question him about a domestic incident.
According to the probably cause affidavit filed Tuesday, Baxter County sheriff’s deputies responded to the reported domestic dispute on County Road 27 on September 18th.
The victim told officers she and her boyfriend, later identified at Bazata, came into Mountain Home to purchase “dope.” While driving through town, they began to argue and she kicked the dashboard of their vehicle.
Bazata allegedly grabbed the victim by the head and used his mouth to rip out a hand full of hair from woman’s head. She was still holding the hair in her hand as she spoke to officers. She said Bazata hit her several times in the face with his fist.
Bazata then pulled their vehicle over when he noticed the victim was messing with her cell phone, saying she was calling the police. After stopping the vehicle on County Road 27, Bazata jumped out and fled in a southerly direction.
The woman told officers she did not know if Bazata took the drugs with him when he fled. A search of the vehicle did not reveal any illegal drugs.
The victim said Bazata may have headed to an auto shop on Highway 5 North where his son is employed. When officers arrived at the auto shop, they found Bazata sitting in the passenger side of a vehicle, with his son behind the wheel.
As officers approached the two men, they observed Bazata appearing to stuff something between the seat and door. When Bazata exited the vehicle, officers immediately noticed a baggie with a white substance where he had been sitting.
Bazata told the officers he had just swallowed an ounce of methamphetamine, leading the officers to transport him to BRMC for treatment for the ingestion of the illegal drug.
Bazata was charged with a felony count of possession of a schedule 1 controlled substance, methamphetamine, as well as a misdemeanor count of domestic battery.
His bond was set at $5,000.
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