Photo: Nicholas Thomas Koskinen
A Mountain Home man who has faced criminal charges in drug-related cases since 2009 was back in Baxter County Circuit Court earlier this month.
Thirty-six-year-old Nicholas Thomas Koskinen pled guilty to charges against him in several criminal cases and was sentenced to
15 years in prison.
The charges include possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, being a felon in possession of a firearm, resisting arrest, a number of traffic violations and with being a habitual offender.
Koskinen’s arrests all stem from traffic stops.
His latest arrest came in late May this year when an Arkansas State Police trooper and Baxter County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a one-vehicle accident on State Highway 5 South in the Salesville area.
According to the probable cause affidavit, when the lawmen arrived on the scene, Koskinen exited his vehicle and attempted to flee. There was a brief struggle, before Koskinen could be subdued.
The trooper reported he attempted to speak with Koskinen to ascertain what had happened, but said the Mountain Home man “could not give a straight answer to questions due to his level of intoxication.”
Methamphetamine, oxycodone, Xanax, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a .38 caliber pistol were reported to have been found in Koskinen’s vehicle.
At points, Koskinen was reported to have been unable to stand on his own, was lethargic and fell asleep often.
On Nov. 22 last year, a Mountain Home police officer stopped a speeding vehicle in which Koskinen was a passenger.
Officers reported finding a number of drugs and various items of drug paraphernalia in the vehicle and on the person of the driver, 26-year-old Sadie Laine Walker of Mountain Home, and on Koskinen who was a passenger.
Photo: Sadie Laine Walker
The drugs included alprazolam, suboxone, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana.
Walker also had charges filed against her.
Koskinen has also had drug charges filed against him in Miller County. He eventually pled guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison with two suspended in that case.
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