Photo: Zachariah Zelk
A Mountain Home man whose criminal record stretches back to 1999 appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court last Thursday, pled guilty to his latest charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.
During an eight-day period in April, 39-year-old Zachariah Zelk managed to be involved in a hit-and-run accident and to pick up drug-related charges.
Through the years, Zelk has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, forgery, theft of property, possession of drugs, breaking or entering and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
He has spent time on probation and parole, in the county jail and the state prison system.
Zelk’s latest run-ins with the law date to April 10-and-18.
On April 10, a pickup truck driven by Zelk ran through a stoplight and collided with an SUV. The impact was hard enough to spin the SUV 180 degrees in the roadway.
When police arrived, witnesses said the driver of the truck had fled. He was not found when police canvassed the area. Zelk was identified as a suspect when police reviewed tape from a surveillance camera located at a nearby restaurant.
Zelk’s tattoos gave him away. Police noticed several on the male driver. Probation and parole officers maintain a list and description of Zelk’s tattoos, and a review of that information helped investigators zero in on Zelk as the driver of the truck involved in the hit-and-run.
The driver of the SUV reported her then 14-year-old daughter had sustained severely strained muscles on the right side from impact and airbag deployment, minor burns from the airbags and was also reported to have been treated for whiplash.
Zelk was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a Class D felony, and two misdemeanor traffic infractions.
Zelk next got in trouble April 18 when a Mountain Home Police Department (MHPD) officer responded to a report of a verbal domestic dispute at a restaurant on State Highway 201 North.
When the officer was heading toward the scene, he was advised the aggressor involved in the disturbance had left the restaurant parking lot in a blue Ford Taurus. The officer spotted a car matching that description on Coley Drive.
The officer reported the vehicle turned into an apartment complex, and the driver bailed out, leaving the engine running. Witnesses identified Zelk as the driver and said he had run into an apartment in one of the buildings in the complex.
A person living in the apartment told the MHPD officer Zelk had just run into his unit and gave permission for the officer to search for the Mountain Home man. He was located hiding in a bathroom. The policeman reported seeing a syringe in the sink. Zelk admitted it was his.
Zelk then said there was methamphetamine in his pants pocket. The officer reported finding a clear plastic bag containing a crystalline substance testing positive for the drug. Zelk was charged with possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia used to ingest the drug and a number of traffic violations.
Before Circuit Judge John Putman pronounced sentence, an emotional Zelk addressed the court outlining measures he said he had taken to “get his life straight.” He said he had been in Care Center Ministries and had found a job at a local boat manufacturer.
He said his problems with the law all stemmed from drug use. “I’ve been an addict all my life,” Zelk told the court.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism said he was glad to hear of Zelk’s efforts to improve his situation. But, he said, “This man hurt someone, hurt a 14-year-old girl in an SUV with her mother that Zachariah hit.” Chism said when he first evaluates a case, “I check to see if anyone has been hurt. It makes a difference when I see that.”
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