A Baxter County man was arrested Monday after leading authorities on a manhunt in the Buford area when investigators were following up on open burglary cases. According to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, 23-year-old Dillon Fields of Buford is in the Baxter County Detention Center on multiple drug and weapon charges.
Baxter County investigators went to a residence on County Road 643 attempting to make contact with a burglary suspect, and they noticed power cords running to a building on the adjacent property. They located a male, later identified as Fields, hiding in a vehicle stored inside the building. The investigators reportedly located methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a loaded .9mm handgun with a defaced serial number in the vehicle, and a sawed-off shotgun was also found later.
After coming out of the vehicle, Fields fled on foot, and the manhunt was then organized. A resident on County Road 1075 later allegedly discovered Fields attempting to steal his tractor. Fields took off again when the resident confronted him, and warning shots were fired.
Fields was eventually captured three-quarters of a mile down Cartney Road from the Buford four corners area in the woods near some turkey barns. Nearly a dozen deputies, the sheriff’s helicopter and the Arkansas Department of Correction North Central Unit’s canine tracking team were involved in the search.
Fields is booked on felony counts of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, two counts of possession of defaced firearms and fleeing. His bond is set at $25,000, and he is set to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court later this month.
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