Member of inmate fishing group gets prison time

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Photo: Travis Armistead   

A man whose criminal history dates back to 2003 appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.

Thirty-seven-year-old Travis Armistead pled guilty to his latest charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Circuit Judge John Putman.

Criminal cases have been opened on Armistead in 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019 and 2020.

His earlier charges stemmed from allegations of stealing property, but switched to mainly drug-related offenses in 2014.

As he stood before the court Monday, Armistead was pleading to allegations in three open cases.

The oldest stemmed from an arrest in mid-September last year.

A Mountain Home policeman stopped the vehicle Armistead was driving based on his knowledge that his driver’s license was suspended.

The officer reported asking Armistead to get out of his vehicle, but he refused.

The officer reported he “assisted” Armistead in getting out.

A number of drugs, including methamphetamine and Suboxone were found during a search of the vehicle.

In addition, a number of items of drug paraphernalia, including smoking pipes and syringes, were located.

A charge of endangering the welfare of a minor was also lodged against Armistead, because his 4-year-old son was in the vehicle.

Armistead was arrested again in early October last year, when he was stopped for speeding in a school zone in Cotter.

The Cotter police officer found a substance in a small green baggie in the center console field testing positive for methamphetamine. Armistead was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

In his most current case, Armistead committed the alleged crimes for which he is charged while locked up in the Baxter County jail.

In late April, Armistead and three other inmates chose to go “fishing.”

According to the probable cause affidavit, the inmates had crafted hooks out of wire and “fishing line” made from strips torn from a plastic trash bag.

The inmates were all in the visitation area of the jail, so they could use law books available for prisoners.

The area is adjacent to a space where incoming prisoners are booked.

The two areas are separated by a wall with a piece of glass that has a hole large enough for someone to get an arm through.

While no members of the jail staff were around, the inmates made a cast and were successful in hooking an incoming prisoner’s property bag sitting on a counter in booking. The bag contained two pocketknives, which had been inventoried, but not yet stored.

After the knives were discovered missing, surveillance video was reviewed showing the fishermen “reeling” in their catch.

In a search of the housing pod to which the inmates were assigned, one of the knives was found in Armistead’s sleeping mat.

The other knife was located in an empty deodorant container.

Jailers also recovered the “fish hooks” the inmates had made out of wire and the “fishing line,” as well.

Armistead and his fellow inmates were charged with felony counts of possessing contraband in the jail and impairing the operation of a vital public facility.

In addition, they faced misdemeanor charges of theft of property and carrying a weapon.

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