A Flippin man facing charges in both Baxter and Marion counties entered a guilty plea to charges in Baxter County during a session of circuit court Thursday.
Twenty-seven-year-old Derek Garrels was sentenced to four years in prison. It was announced in court the time he received in Baxter County will run concurrently with the sentence he receives in Marion County.
A final hearing on the Marion County charges is now set for mid-August.
Garrels’ Baxter County charges stem from a traffic stop of a vehicle in which he was a passenger. A Mountain Home Police officer pulled the car over in early September last year. The officer said the vehicle had driven left of center several times while traveling on Cardinal Street.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the three men in the car, including Garrels, were “extremely nervous and moving around a lot.”
A search of the vehicle was conducted with permission of the driver. Methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found both in the vehicle and on Garrels’ person.
The officer reported Garrels saying the car had been swerving into the opposing lane of traffic because the driver “was weighing the dope” while trying to drive.
Garrels faces more serious charges in Marion County stemming from a search for him by Marion County Sheriff’s deputies at the request of the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
The Marion County deputies went to a residence along Tall Point Lane where they believed they could locate Garrels. They reported knocking on the door several times but Garrels did not answer. He finally let officers into the house.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the Marion County case, a number of firearms were found in the residence along with methamphetamine, other drugs and items of paraphernalia used to ingest drugs.
Garrels was charged with drug offenses, along with several counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, a Class Y felony.
In addition, Garrels is being charged as a habitual offender, which could add more prison time to his sentence.
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