A Gassville man was jailed September 28 last year on drug charges. He then managed to commit several crimes while behind bars, according to electronic court records.
In all, 36-year-old Keith Palmer, III had four new criminal cases opened on him in a span of just over a month.
Palmer appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court last week and pled guilty to some of the charges against him. The state dismissed others according to electronic court records.
He was put on probation for 48 months.
STARTED WITH TRAFFIC STOP
Palmer’s problems began when he was a passenger in a pickup truck stopped by a Mountain Home Police officer while traveling on Highway 62 East on September 28 last year
The stop was initially made because the truck was displaying expired license plates.
During the stop, the officer noticed Palmer was holding a black baseball cap.
The driver of the vehicle gave permission for a search. As Palmer was exiting the truck, the officer saw him place the black hat on the truck seat.
A case for eyeglasses was found inside the hat containing a smoking pipe and a small amount of suspected methamphetamine.
Palmer told the officer he was unaware of any drug being inside the hat. He was arrested and taken to the Baxter County Detention Center.
BROKE THE LAW IN JAIL
After being in jail for slightly more than 11 days, Palmer began to engage in disruptive behavior at the detention center.
In the early morning hours of October 8, Palmer claimed he had fallen and hit his head. He was put in a restraint chair and brought to the booking area to be checked out medically, and for possible transportation to Baxter Regional Medical Center if the situation warranted.
Palmer, however, got out of the chair when a jailer turned his back and fled the booking area, shutting two doors behind him as he ran.
His journey took him through three sections of the jail. It came to an end when a locked door leading to the recreation area stopped him.
Jailers were able to corral Palmer and escort him back to the booking area, again putting him in the restraint chair.
As Palmer’s escapade played itself out, a call was put out for assistance when the situation at the jail appeared to be escalating.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Mountain Home Police officers and sheriff’s deputies from the patrol division all “logged code” and proceeded to the jail using lights and sirens.
Four days later, Palmer got in more trouble when he broke sprinkler heads flooding the top tier of E and F Pods.
A review of video surveillance camera footage revealed Palmer standing on a bunk and pulling on the sprinkler head multiple times until it finally broke and water poured out.
STEALS FROM FELLOW INMATES
Palmer got in trouble again after an inmate reported he had not received a commissary order he had placed November 17.
Surveillance camera video was reviewed and it showed Palmer using an improvised fishing line to snag a red cart where items purchased by inmates from the commissary were kept.
He pulled the cart to a spot near his cell and then grabbed the items off the cart and handed them to another inmate who stashed them in his bunk.
All of the activity left Palmer facing the three sets of charges picked up in jail as well as the drug charge that initially brought him to the lockup.
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