The names of five of the 10 people arrested in Mountain Home Thursday during Operation Take America Back have been released. The five being held in the Baxter County Detention Center facing state charges have been released by 14th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge. The other five defendants who are facing federal charges have not officially been identified pending their arraignment in federal court.
Here is the list of the five, all Mountain Home residents, with their charges and amount of bond:
Fifty-five-year-old Eric Jerome Harris, charged with two counts of delivery of methamphetamine. His bond is set at $25,000.
Forty-three-year-old Deanna Lynn Blue, charged with possession of methamphetamine with purpose to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, fentanyl, with purpose to deliver. Her bond is set at $25,000.
Thirty-three-year-old Melissa Michelle Knee, charged with four counts of delivery of methamphetamine. Her bond is set at $10,000.
Twenty-nine-year-old Justin James Coddington, charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with purpose to deliver. He is also being held for a probation violation. His bond is set at $10,000.
Fifty-one-year-old Bryan Edward Smith, charged with one count of delivery of cocaine. His bond is set at $5,000.
All five will make their first court appearance Monday in Baxter County Circuit Court.
BACKGROUND
The ten were arrested Thursday as part of the Department of Justice’s Operation Take America Back and an FBI initiative designated Operation Summer Heat.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas says the arrests stem from an Organized Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation that began in 2023, which targeted methamphetamine and fentanyl distributors in and around Mountain Home. The investigation, which was headed by the FBI, involved numerous undercover buys of methamphetamine, and drug and firearm seizures from members of the drug trafficking organization. Since its inception, a total of 23 people have been arrested as part of the investigation.
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