Two persons are in custody in the Detention Center after they attempted to introduce contraband into one of the housing units from the outside of the building.  

 

     The Sheriff’s Office received information that a drop of contraband was anticipated during the evening of Wednesday, July 13^th.  A preliminary investigation lead officers to believe that contraband was being smuggled into the Detention Center through a hole in one of the windows on the back side of housing unit “B” in the Detention Center.   This hole had been covered up in an attempt to conceal it, but jailers learned of it.  Persons from outside were said to be placing contraband inside a vessel attached to a rope, which was then to be pulled inside the facility by the inmates through the hole in the glass.

 

     The Sheriff and several deputies set up concealed visual surveillance on the back side of the Detention Center in an effort to catch these people in the act of delivering the contraband.  At approximately 9:00 PM, officers observed a vehicle arrive on Grey St. behind the Detention Center.  A male subject was observed to exit the vehicle and approach the rear of the Detention Center on foot.  He was then observed to place a quantity of contraband into a vessel, which jail inmates then attempted to pull inside.  This attempt was stopped by Sheriff Montgomery, but the male suspect ran away on foot.  The vehicle, which was occupied by a female driver, was stopped and seized.  She was taken into custody and transported to the Detention Center.  

 

     The Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Mountain Home Police, Arkansas State Police, and Officers from the North Central Unit, Arkansas Department of Corrections, initiated a manhunt in an attempt to find the suspect who fled on foot.  The helicopter was launched, and tracking dogs were called in from the Calico Rock prison.  Within twenty-three (23) minutes of the tracking dogs arriving in the area, they had tracked and located the suspect hiding behind a residence on Grey St., where he was taken into custody without further incident.     Those in custody and their charges are:

 

     MICHAEL ANTHONY BEHRENS, 20 years old of Mountain Home, charged with:

 

          Furnishing Prohibited Articles – Felony

          Possession of a Controlled Substance (K-2) – Misdemeanor

          Possession of Controlled Substance (Marijuana) – Misdemeanor

          Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Misdemeanor

          Fleeing from Officer – Misdemeanor  

 

     Bond for Michael Anthony Behrens was set at $100,000.  He will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court at a later time. 

 

     ELIZABETH J. WILKINS, 39 years old of Mountain Home, charged with:

 

          Furnishing Prohibited Articles – Felony

          Possession of Controlled Substance (K-2) – Misdemeanor

          Possession of Controlled Substance (Marijuana) – Misdemeanor

          Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Misdemeanor 

 

     Bond for Elizabeth J. Wilkins was set at $50,000.  She will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court at a later time.

 

     The contraband seized included a substantial amount of food and candy, marijuana, K-2 (synthetic marijuana), and tobacco.  The investigation is continuing into the events and circumstances surrounding this incident.

 

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff