A Norfork woman who was jailed after failing to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court was back in the same court last week where she entered a guilty plea to drug-related charges filed against her.Forty-five-year-old Virginia Burch was sentenced to six years in prison with four years suspended. By way of judicial transfer, she will spend the 24 months in confinement in one of the Community Correction Centers in the state to undergo treatment for addictions.
Burch got in trouble with the court when she didn’t show up for a session Feb. 28th. When her name was first called by Circuit Judge John Putman and she did not respond, her attorney — Deputy Public Defender Mark Cooper — asked the judge not to issue a failure to appear warrant, until he had a chance to try and contact Burch.
When Cooper reported back, he said he had talked to Burch’s mother, and it was apparent from the conversation her daughter would not be coming to court. He said no particular reason had been given as to the cause of the no show.
Judge Putman then ordered the issuance of a failure to appear warrant, and Burch was arrested and brought to the county jail.
Cooper had told the court on previous occasions Burch had accepted a plea agreement offered by the state, and it was just a matter of going through the formal sentencing process.
Burch’s latest criminal case involves charges stemming from a compliance visit in late February last year. Burch and Richard Bearden, who were reported to share the residence with Burch’s mother, were both on probation at the time from earlier convictions.
During the compliance visit, officers reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia in the house.
According to the probable cause affidavit, several smoking devices used to ingest methamphetamine were located in the bedroom occupied by Burch and Bearden. One of the devices was alleged to contain 14.8 grams of what was described as a bright yellow liquid field testing positive for methamphetamine.
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