A man arrested at an RV park in Cotter for trafficking large amounts of marijuana has entered a guilty plea to federal charges brought against him.
Fifty-eight-year-old Craig Whittingslow of Nevada City, California was arrested in mid-May, when local and federal law enforcement officers converged on the Denton Ferry RV Park where the suspect had parked his luxury motorhome.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, Whittingslow was not present when the officers arrived, but returned to the RV parking slot in a smaller vehicle he towed behind the motorhome.
A search warrant was served, and officers reported finding 13 pounds of marijuana and $64,200 in cash. The marijuana was packed with an odor-absorbing powder and stored in a charcoal-lined duffel bag to mask the smell of the drug.
In addition, officers also found weapons in a gun safe in the motorhome. Whittingslow opened the safe with a combination. A shotgun, rifle and handgun were seized.
A confidential source working with federal officials met with Drug Enforcement Agency personnel in Fayetteville May 14th and gave them information about a fairly large scale marijuana distributor named “Craig” from central California.
The source said he owed Whittingslow a large sum of money for a previous marijuana transaction, which took place about two months before the May meeting. The source said the earlier deal had taken place at an RV park in Fayetteville.
The source said during the sale, he entered Whittingslow’s motorhome and saw the California man go to a bedroom closet and retrieve about 30 pounds of marijuana. The source said he had given a partial payment to Whittingslow for the product and still had a balance due on the purchase.
The source told federal authorities Whittingslow had numerous marijuana customers in mid-America, including Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. Whittingslow told the source had had done one deal in Missouri worth in excess of $200,000.
Whittingslow traveled from state-to-state in the luxury motorhome.
After the source told DEA agents Whittingslow was in route to Arkansas, they reported a license plate reader on Interstate-40 near Holbrook, Arizonia showed Whittingslow’s motorhome passing by that location heading east.
The confidential source placed a telephone call to Whittingslow at the request of the agents. During the conversation Whittingslow told the source he had arrived in Cotter and asked if the source could meet him. The two agreed to get together May 17th.
The source had agreed to purchase about 10 pounds of marijuana from Whittingslow.
Whittingslow was arrested and taken to the Baxter County jail. According to the probable cause affidavit, cash, weapons and the smaller vehicle Whittingslow towed behind the motorhome were also all seized. The small vehicle was seized by the state, the federal government took the rest of the forfeited items.
A date for formal sentencing on his federal charges has not been set. He is in the custody of the U.S. Marshall’s Service. A pre-sentencing report was ordered prepared.
At one point, Whittingstlow filed a motion to suppress evidence in his federal court case contending the May 17th search in Cotter violated his constitutional rights. A federal judge denied the motion and Whittingslow is appealing the decision. In the plea agreement Whittingslow reserved the right to withdraw his guilty plea, if he is successful in his appeal.
According to the plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to drop one count of the three-count indictment. The dismissed count charged Whittingslow with the use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
In addition to the federal charges, Whittingslow faces criminal charges filed in Baxter County. He appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court May 21st for a Rule 8.1 hearing. Under the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, a person who has been arrested and has not bonded out of jail is to be brought before a judicial officers without unnecessary delay.
In Baxter County, Whittingslow is charged with possession of marijuana with the purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of weapons during controlled substance offenses.
The state has not formally announced if it would proceed with the local charges given the guilty plea Whittingslow has now entered in federal court.
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