Shackled Mountain Home man escapes from patrol unit as officers pursue weaving vehicle
A vehicle weaving between traffic lanes provided an opportunity for a shackled and handcuffed Mountain Home man to briefly escape from the rear of patrol unit as he was been transported for medical care.
According to the probable cause affidavit, two Marion County deputies were transporting 38-year-old Charles Lutz to the North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison for medical attention on the morning of Nov. 17th when they observed a vehicle with a Missouri license plate weaving between traffic lanes and into a ditch.
The officers contacted the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to advise of the situation and asking if they had a deputy in the area. Boone County was advised the Marion County officers were transporting an inmate. The driver of the Marion County vehicle unit told Boone County law enforcement when he met their officers he would activate his emergency lights to indicate the MO vehicle he was following and ease back allowing them to conduct a traffic stop.
All was going as planned, when the Marion County officer observed Lutz opening the rear door of the patrol unit and jumping from the caged car while it was still in motion.
As the driver of the patrol unit stopped and exited his car, the second deputy had detained Lutz.
The Marion County officers were assisted at the hospital by officers from the Harrison Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, along with a K9 unit, allowing them to return to Yellville while Lutz received treatment.
Lutz had been arrested earlier after he allegedly broke into a business in Marion County and a U.S Park ranger patrol vehicle.
At the time of the arrest, Marion County Sheriff Clinton Evans said officers received a call of a business break-in at the Animal Clinic of the Ozarks in Flippin, where they found Lutz in the lobby of the business.
Heavy damage was reported to the business where Lutz had used a bench to break out the glass door to gain entry to the building.
During the investigation, officers learned Lutz had allegedly entered the park ranger vehicle about a half mile east of the business and taken a tactical vest and flashlight.
Lutz is charged with felony counts of commercial burglary and breaking or entering along with misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief in the second degree, theft, resisting arrest and public intoxication. He is being held in the Marion County Jail on a $25,000 bond. A count of felony escape has been added to his charges, with bond set at $10,000.
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Man pleads guilty to string of charges in two counties stemming from attacks on same woman
A wild ride through parts of Baxter and Marion Counties in early September and a violent domestic altercation in February resulted in a number of major charges being lodged against a Mountain Home man in both counties. The charges against 40-year-old Thomas James Archey stem from attacks on the same woman identified in court records as his girlfriend.
Archey appeared in Marion County Circuit Court last week and pled guilty to the charges against him in four open cases — two in Baxter and two in Marion. He was given 10 years probation and ordered to enter a 12-month addiction treatment program at Care Center Ministries in Mountain Home. According to the plea agreement, if Archey does not complete the Care Center Ministries program, he could face 10 years in prison.
Archey’s charges in both counties included stalking, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, fleeing, harassment and violation of no contact orders.
The latest incident involving Archey and the female victim happened September 11th. According to court records, the victim told investigators she was driving her vehicle in the Lakeview area when Archey spotted her and tried to run her off the road with his vehicle.
The victim said she was forced to veer off to the right side of the highway to avoid a head-on collision with Archey’s vehicle when he pulled directly into her lane of travel.
At the time, the victim was headed to take her infant daughter to a babysitter before going to work. She told investigators she was “terrified” and feared for her life and the life of her infant daughter. While the victim’s last name is listed as Williams in court records, the infant carries the last name of Archey. In an earlier case, the victim was listed as Archey’s live-in girlfriend and Archey as the father of the infant.
After Archey drove his vehicle into her lane and ran her off the highway, the victim told police she saw Archey turn around to begin chasing her, and she fled, pulling into the State Park day use area in Lakeview where Archey caught her and attempted to block her vehicle in the park. The victim was able to escape and the chase continued with law enforcement joining in the pursuit.
According to court records, the victim had been in touch with 9-1-1 dispatchers to report what was happening. After eluding Archey in the park, the victim continued to travel through parts of Baxter and Marion Counties. After he broke off chasing the victim, Archey was able to avoid the initial efforts to capture him, and area law enforcement agencies were alerted to be-on-the-lookout for him. He was eventually arrested September 15th when he was spotted, stopped and taken into custody by a Lakeview police officer.
The victim met with police officers the day after the September 11th incident and was interviewed concerning the incident.
Archey was also arrested and charged early this year in Marion County for attacking the same woman involved in the September incident. The altercation took place at a residence in Bull Shoals. At the time, the victim was reported to be six months pregnant with Archey’s child.
A witness to the altercation told investigators Archey was highly intoxicated on either drugs or alcohol when he arrived at the home. He demanded the victim leave with him, but she refused. Archey then attacked the pregnant woman.
Archey is alleged to have “head butted” the victim in her face, threatening to kill her and the unborn baby. He was reported to have kicked and punched the victim, throwing her to the ground off a raised driveway at one point. About two months after the attack, the victim wrote to the court asking that charges against Archey be dropped. She informed the court she would not testify against her attacker. She said she and Archey were then expecting to have a child in about a month’s time, and “I would like for him to be part of his child’s life.”
The witness said he tried to intervene to stop the attack on the woman, but Archey hit him several times in the face before picking up a case of beer and fleeing the scene.
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Law enforcement asked to ‘look at the marijuana plants’
A Stone County man, 71-year-old Michael Garner, returned home Saturday to find law enforcement officers at his residence viewing his alleged marijuana grow operation. He was promptly taken into custody at the doorway.
Stone County Sheriff Lance Bonds says two officers were dispatched to the home along State Highway 5 South to conduct a welfare check on an individual at the residence. Upon arrival, one of the deputies was invited inside the residence by an individual known by law enforcement. The individual reportedly asked the deputy “to look at the marijuana plants.”
The officer observed a marijuana grow operation, as well as the illegal plants growing outside the residence. Located inside the residence was a 4×6 room used for the manufacture of marijuana.
While inside the residence, investigators located numerous marijuana plants, LED heat lamp grow lights, thermometers, water, fans and chemicals. Outside the grow room, investigators located marijuana trimming scissors, cases of jars and a plastic tote containing numerous jars of finished marijuana product labeled with names of strands.
Garner’s bond was set at $10,000. He is being held at the Stone County Detention Center and is scheduled to appear in Stone County Circuit Court in December.
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Norfork man goes from victim to aggressor in family feuds
Wesley Dickerson, who was shot by his brother as part of an ongoing dispute between the men about four years ago and who is now charged with threatening to shoot other members of his family, has undergone a mental evaluation and was found fit to proceed in the case against him.
Mark Cooper, who represents Dickerson, said during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday he would not challenge the findings, paving the way for the case to go to trial the week of March 25th.
The most recent incident involving violent confrontations between members of the Dickerson family took place at the 71-year-old Wesley Dickerson’s residence along Sheid Road in Norfork May 22nd.
Baxter County deputies were called to the residence to investigate reports of a potentially violent domestic altercation involving firearms.
When the deputies arrived, they found a number of people in the front yard of the residence. The people yelled at the officers to take cover because a person inside the residence had a rifle.
The wife of Wesley Dickerson told deputies her husband had been drinking and had gotten into an altercation with his grandson following an argument over the return of some guns. She said when the fight broke out, there were children present, but family members came to the residence and removed them.
In addition to having firearms pointed at his grandson, it was reported Wesley Dickerson had hit the relative with a cane, leaving a bloody cut across his face.
Wesley Dickerson’s wife said she tried to break up the fight. She said Wesley Dickerson had shoved her down and punched her several times.
After getting information from some of the victims, deputies moved the people who had been in the yard of the residence behind one of the barns on the property.
All parties on the scene told deputies they had seen Wesley Dickerson point weapons at people multiple times. They told deputies there were a number of weapons in the house to which he had access.
Once family members were in places of safety, the deputies began to establish a perimeter around the residence. They then saw a male emerge from the house staggering and carrying bags and weapons. The male subject, identified as Wesley Dickerson, was reportedly slurring his words and appeared to be heavily under the influence of alcohol.
Wesley Dickerson was alleged to have told deputies he had been involved in the altercation, but they reported nothing else he said beyond that statement “made much sense.”
Deputies took control of Wesley Dickerson, the weapons he was carrying, and placed him under arrest.
The tables were turned during an incident in July 2014 when it was Wesley Dickerson who was shot by a relative — his younger brother, 58-year-old Charles Dickerson.
According to court records, Wesley Dickerson drove to the home of his younger brother on July 5th, 2014. Charles Dickerson ordered his older brother off his property and fired a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun while standing near the front door of his residence.
Deputies reported at the time evidence at the scene showed Wesley Dickerson had been sitting in his pickup truck about 40-to-50-feet away from where the shot was fired. The blast damaged the truck’s doorframe and shattered glass. Wesley Dickerson was struck in the face and upper body. The injured man drove himself to his residence off Sheid Road. He was eventually airlifted to a Little Rock hospital for treatment.
Wesley Dickerson told deputies there had been an ongoing dispute between the two men surrounding a $300 debt. Wesley Dickerson said he had driven to his brother’s house in 2014 to see if the siblings could work out their differences. Wesley Dickerson said he was willing to forgive the debt, if it would assist in repairing the riff between the brothers.
Charles Dickerson was sentenced to 10 years in prison in January 2015. He is currently reported on parole.
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Former MH resident suing health firm for return of AR tax dollars
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – A Missouri health care provider involved in a federal corruption investigation is being sued by a former Mountain Home resident for the return of any illegally received Arkansas taxpayer money.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the lawsuit was filed
Tuesday by former Mountain Home resident Jim Parsons in Benton County against Preferred Family Healthcare of Springfield, three of its subsidiaries and company officials.
The newspaper reports company officials did not respond to a request for
comment.
Parsons says the company received nearly $53 million in state tax funds from 2011 to 2016 and any amount illegally obtained could be determined at trial.
Four former company executives have pleaded guilty to conspiracy connected to bribery of at least three former Arkansas lawmakers.
Preferred Family was suspended from receiving Medicaid payments earlier this year and its Arkansas clinics have been sold.
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