A large number of people came before Circuit Judge John Putman Tuesday to change their pleas and be sentenced on mainly drug-related crimes. During the session, probation sentences totaling 75 years were handed out to defendants.
Photo: Margaret Drzka
Margaret Drzka of Midway was sentenced to six years probation, after pleading guilty to drug-related charges and three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. The 20-year-old Drzka was reported to have been driving around for a number of hours with her three young children in the car prior to being arrested March 13. Drzka told police she did not know when she last checked on them or changed their diapers. The Arkansas Department of Human Services took custody of the children.
Photo: Audrey Saari
Audrey Saari of Mountain Home was arrested in May when Mountain Home Police responded to a domestic disturbance call in Cooper Estates. A male was said to be inside the residence threatening people with a knife. After the suspect was taken into custody, police checked the home and found drugs and drug paraphernalia within reach of young children living there. The 24-year-old Saari pled guilty and was given 12 years probation. She told the court she is enrolled in an addiction treatment program at Care Center Ministries in Mountain Home.
Photo: Troy Marlowe
Troy Marlowe of Mountain Home was arrested on drug-related charges after being stopped for a traffic violation by an Arkansas State Police trooper in late January. The 47-year-old Marlowe was found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He pled guilty to the charges against him and was put on probation for six years.
Photo: Brenda Brown
Brenda Brown of Gassville was given 10 years probation for being in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, after being stopped for a traffic violation in May. The 48-year-old Brown compounded her problems when she tried to sneak drugs and drug paraphernalia into the Baxter County Detention Center following her arrest.
Photo: Debra Sisney
Forty-one-year-old Debra Sisney of rural Mountain Home pled guilty and was put on probation for six years on charges of possessing methamphetamine, along with a prescription drug and drug paraphernalia in two cases filed this year.
Photo: John Rutherford
John Rutherford of Harriett entered a guilty plea and was put on probation for six years for possessing drug paraphernalia after being stopped by an Arkansas State Police Trooper on a traffic violation in late November last year. The 47-year-old Rutherford was also charged with criminal impersonation for giving the trooper a false name. Rutherford was identified by way of a mobile fingerprint scanner.
Photo: James Scalfaro
James Scalfaro of Midway, who was arrested in March on an outstanding felony warrant and found to be carrying methamphetamine and to be a felon in possession of a weapon, pled guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced to five years probation. The 58-year-old Scalfaro was picked up by Mountain Home Police in a room at the Executive Inn.
Photo: Kathleen Pieri-Brown
Kathleen Pieri-Brown of rural Mountain Home pled no contest to drug-related charges and was put on probation for six years. The 40-year-old Pieri-Browns arrest came in early May when an Arkansas Community Correction’s officer went to a residence along Timberlane Road to conduct a parole compliance visit, based on information Pieri-Brown was alleged to be selling illegal drugs from the residence.
Photo: Kevin Beck
Kevin Beck of Mountain Home pled guilty to drug-related charges and was put on probation for six years. The 38-year-old Beck was first arrested on the parking lot of the Executive Inn Nov. 15 last year for public intoxication. A Mountain Home Police officer then found him in possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia used to ingest the drug.
Photo: Autumn Spitzer
Autumn Spitzer of Mountain Home pled guilty to drug-related charges in three active criminal cases and was put on probation for 12 years. The 31-year-old Spitzer was arrested in August, September and October last year for possessing and selling methamphetamine. When Judge Putman asked Spitzer if she had employment possibilities after her release from jail, she said she had been in nursing, “but I kinda messed that up.”
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