Homeless man caught in building and in possession of meth pleads guilty

A man arrested in early July 2022 after police discovered him trespassing in a building in Mountain Home and in possession of methamphetamine and a smoking pipe was back in Baxter County Circuit Court May 12 after an absence of more than two years.
In fact, for two years, eight months and 9 days, 31-year-old Gabriel Johnson McCasland was a not show for court appearances.

On Monday, he was sentenced to five years-probation.

On his first appearance after being brought back from Illinois to Baxter County, a not guilty plea was entered on McCasland’s behalf. He also announced he planned to represent himself and expressed a desire to change his plea as quickly as possible to wrap up the charges in Baxter County.

When he changed his plea on Monday, a deputy public defender stood with him.

ARRESTED IN ILLINOIS

He was not picked up on the Baxter County failure to appear warrant until mid-February in Springfield, Illinois.

He was served with the warrant April 2 after being extradited and booked into the Baxter County Detention Center.

Records show that, during his absence, McCasland had been living mainly in Illinois’ capital city.

He had also picked up charges in Illinois including aggravated assault on a peace officer.

A hold was also placed on McCasland April 2 by the Marion County Sheriff’s office on a misdemeanor warrant issued in October 2022 by the Flippin Division of Marion County District Court.

At the time of his initial arrest, he was able to make a $5,000 bond but after being released, he vanished.

While telling police he was homeless, he did give the bail bond company an address in Mountain Home.

Since McCasland’s “disappearance,” the bail bond company has requested the case be continued at least 11 times while they attempted to locate McCasland.

Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman has said on a number of occasions, the issue is, first and foremost, to get people to appear in court as ordered, not to forfeit bonds.

THE INITIAL ARREST

On July 8, 2022, Mountain Home Police were called to a business by a woman who wanted an officer to escort her to her vehicle.

She said a truck had been driving around the parking lot and a suspicious looking person had been seen walking on the property.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the officer checked the area looking for holes in the fence where someone might have accessed the property.

He found an area of fencing that had been pushed down onto the ground.

The officer began to search an area adjacent to the business where a number of what appeared to be abandoned buildings were located in a fenced-off area.

According to the probable cause affidavit, when the officer entered one of the buildings, he walked up a set of stairs and found a male asleep.

The person, later identified as McCasland, woke up and was told he was trespassing on private property and that it appeared he had gained entry by pushing down a section of fence.

McCasland told the officer he was homeless and had just been trying to find someplace to sleep.

He did do an interview with an Illinois television station in late November 2017, in which he said he had been homeless since he “aged out” of Illinois’foster care system.

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