Chad Lee Merriman of Norfork, who was on the Most Wanted list maintained by the Baxter County Sheriffs Office for only a few hours this month, appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and was ordered back to court next week to enter a plea on new charges filed against him, including residential burglary and violation of an order of protection.
It was the second time in the last several months, the 41-year-old Merriman has been taken into custody stemming from similar circumstances.
Merriman was first arrested in the early morning hours of June 27th when Baxter County deputies responded to an open line 9-1-1 call from a residence on Major Street in Norfork suspecting that, based on other similar calls from the residence, that Merriman might be there or attempting to get into the residence even through his presence on the property was a violation of an active order of protection.
When deputies arrived, a female resident of the home told them that Merriman was not only violating the protective order, but had an active warrant for his arrest as well.
She directed the deputies to a bedroom in which Merriman was sleeping when officers awoke Merriman, he abruptly stood up in the bed. Merriman refused to comply with the deputies commands and pepper spray was administered twice. He remained combative, trying to punch a deputy. The deputy avoided being hit, grabbed Merriman by the waist and a scuffle broke out in the small room.
During the altercation, Merriman grabbed the duty belt of one of the deputies. Another deputy began striking Merrimans arm with a flashlight. The deputies were eventually able to put Merrimam into custody. One of the deputies suffered a large cut on the left side of his neck during the altercation.
Merriman told the court during his initial appearance on the first set of charges that he did not remember the details of the scuffle. He said the deputies woke him up out of a deep sleep which had startled him and he reacted accordingly.
Charges filed against Merriman in the first incident included resisting arrest and 2nd degree battery on a police officer.
The most recent arrest stemmed from an incident that took place in the early morning hours of August 15th. Deputies again responded to an open line 9-1-1 call from the residence on Major Street in Norfork.
When they arrived on the scene, deputies made contact with Merriman who was hiding in the attic of the house. They then heard a crashing sound and discovered that Merriman had kicked out the wall of the attic, jumped to the ground and fled from the scene into the night.
The victim told deputes that Merriman arrived at the residence about 12:30 a.m. on August 15th. The victim saw Merriman outside and heard him knock on the door. She went into another room to call 9-1-1 when Merriman broke open the front door and made it into the room she was in. She said he was carrying a stick and approached the victim in an aggressive manner. The victim was able to dial 9-1-1 but could not communicate with the operator, but the open line call was – given recent events — an indication there was likely trouble at the residence.
The day after the incident, a warrant was issued for Merriman on charges of residential burglary, violation of a protective order, criminal mischief and fleeing from a law officer and he was put on the Most Wanted list.
On August 17th, the Sheriffs Office received a tip that Merriman could be found at a residence in Izard County. He was taken into custody by deputies from the Izard County Sheriffs Office.
Merriman is an inmate in the Baxter County Detention Center with his bond set at almost $12,000.
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