Photo: Deputy Garnett McMahon is one of two court bailiffs who operate the recently installed luggage scanner at the Baxter County Court Complex. Corporal David Estes also serves as a court bailiff.
When the Baxter County Court Complex reopened following the pandemic shutdown, visitors were greeted with a new screening process, thanks to the installation during the break of a luggage scanner. Like equipment used in airports, the scanner utilizes x-rays to provide detailed images of items inside bags visitors have with them when entering the court complex, located at 301 East Sixth Street in Mountain Home.
Baxter County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ralph Bird says members of the department have discussed the need for the equipment to meet court security requirements for at least six years. Lt. Bird says Sheriff John Montgomery has been in active discussions with personnel at the Western District of the U.S. Marshals Service office over the past year, in an effort to secure a scanner when an upgrade was made at the Fort Smith facility.
Once the agreement on the transfer was reached, the logistics were assigned to Bird and Sgt. Lee Sanders.
Bird says it was quite an undertaking to move the scanner from Fort Smith to Mountain Home.
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Lt. Bird says the addition of the baggage scanner comes at an opportune time.
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Bird says the scanner aids in allowing visitors quicker access into the courtroom, avoiding lines forming. He also emphasizes the x-ray scanning is not damaging to the personal effects being sent through the equipment, including cellphones.
He says acquiring the equipment is a testament to community leadership and noted the original price for the equipment was $58,000, and to make an equal purchase would run $75-80,000.
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Bird’s comments about community leadership extended beyond Sheriff Montgomery to include Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass and Baxter Regional Medical Center CEO and President Ron Peterson.
Beyond community leadership, Sgt. Lee Sanders says the support of the community is also important, particularly now.
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While Bird and Sanders were assigned the logistics of transferring the scanner, the day-to-day operation falls upon Deputy Garnett McMahon and Corporal David Estes, who serve as court bailiffs.
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