Man given chance to stay out of prison until baby born blows it

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Photo: Tanner Ray Sebold

A 25-year-old Cotter man allowed to remain free until his girlfriend gave birth to the couple’s child before beginning his 12-year prison sentence blew that opportunity by being rearrested late last month.

In sentencing Tanner Ray Sebold on Feb. 20, Circuit Judge Gordon Webb approved the plan to permit the Cotter man to be present for the birth expected at any time.

Sebold was ordered to report to the Baxter County jail with 24 hours of the baby being born. He went to jail earlier than that after being taken into custody by Cotter Police officers Feb. 25 for theft of property and possessing drugs and paraphernalia used to ingest drugs.

He was taken to the prison intake center at Malvern Feb. 27 to begin his 12-year sentence. He has not yet made a first appearance on charges stemming from his arrest in Cotter.

Cotter Police officers arrested Sebold when they went to an apartment complex to help the manager serve an eviction notice on him based on the theft of a television from another apartment.

When the officers went into the apartment with Sebold’s permission, the stolen TV was located, along with drugs and paraphernalia used to ingest the illegal substances.

The arrests leading to Seabold’s 12-year prison sentence began in May last year with the latest occurring Oct. 30.

Oct. 30 – Officers conducted a search of a room at the Executive Inn in Mountain Home as part of an investigation into stolen handguns. According to the probable cause affidavit, Sebold was found in the room. He had in his possession two small plastic bags containing a white crystalline substance and a glass smoking pipe. Police also found a handgun reported as stolen in Sebold’s pants pocket. Sebold pled guilty to the charges stemming from the incident.

Sep. 24 – A Mountain Home Police Department (MHPD) officer stopped a pickup truck on Ninth Street for a minor traffic infraction. Sebold was listed as a passenger. During the stop, two other MHPD officers arrived on scene. When Sebold got out of the vehicle, officers saw a loaded revolver at his feet. Another gun was located in the pickup. It was reported to have been defaced making the serial numbers almost unreadable. The driver of the truck, identified as 28-year-old Jessica Raymond, had her 2-year-old daughter with her. The Arkansas Department of Human Services took custody of the child. Another passenger was reported to have been 24-year-old Kendrick Sebree. Sebold pled guilty to the charges stemming from the traffic stop, included possession of a defaced firearm, possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.



Photos: Jessica Raymond and Kendrick Sebree

According to court records, the only occupant of the truck who had not faced mainly drug-related felony charges in the past was the 2-year-old.

Aug. 29 – Officers interviewed a woman at Baxter Regional Medical Center who said Sebold was her boyfriend. She said he had been verbally abusive since the first of the year, and the abuse had recently turned physical. According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim, who said at the time she was 12-weeks pregnant with Sebold’s child, reported he had tried to hit her in the stomach, choked her several times, hit her in the face with his fist and slammed car doors on her. She said Sebold had told her to kill herself. The woman’s 4-year-old son lives in the home and the victim allegedly said Sebold had been verbally abusive to the boy calling him stupid and retarded. Sebold was accused of slapping the 4-year-old “hard” on the back of the head because he was being a “picky eater.” The woman said she went to the aid of her son and was beaten by her boyfriend. The victim told investigators from the beginning she did not want charges brought against Sebold. The officer took the information to prosecutors, and it was decided to file two felony counts of second-degree domestic battering against him.

Sebold became emotional when a deputy prosecutor read the probable cause affidavit outlining what the state felt it could prove if the case went to trial. He pled “no contest” to the charges in this case.

May 11 – The “Pokémon arrest” was the first in the Sebold series in this county. He was initially stopped by an Arkansas State Police trooper for driving without headlights. The trooper reported when he approached the vehicle, Sebold “immediately started explaining to me he was just looking for Pokémon.”

Sebold may have been referring to Pokémon Go, a popular game where players use the GPS data and clock in their cellphones to show Pokémon characters in the player’s current physical location. The characters can be captured by firing a “poke ball.” The trooper quickly found out Sebold had a suspended driver’s license and two outstanding arrest warrants. The trooper said he could also smell marijuana, and Sebold admitted he had “smoked about four hours ago.” As a result of the traffic stop, Sebold was charged with possession of methamphetamine and cocaine, possession of an instrument of crime and a number of misdemeanors, including possessing a small amount of marijuana, driving without headlights and drunk driving/drugs. Sebold pled guilty to the charges in the case.

Sebold also has an active drug-related case in Marion County. According to the probable cause affidavit, he was arrested twice in the same day in late August last year. He was first stopped by an Arkansas State Police trooper and taken to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding warrant and driving on a suspended license. His girlfriend bonded him out of jail. They were apparently stopped and arrested a second time when Sebold was again seen driving without a valid license – this time by Marion County deputies.

Sebold was alleged to have told the deputies his pregnant girlfriend was having cramps, and he was trying to get her to the hospital. First responders and an ambulance were called to the scene.

A search incident to arrest revealed a small plastic bag containing a white crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine in Sebold’s wallet. A glass pipe commonly used to ingest drugs was found in the vehicle.

The two-arrests-in-one-day incident took place Aug. 29, 2019, but charges were not officially filed until Jan. 6, according to a stamp affixed to the documents by the Marion County Clerk’s Office.

Sebold is due to make an appearance in Marion County May 13.

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