Drug bust defendants appear in circuit court

A group of people charged with selling methamphetamine and cocaine made first appearances in Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division Monday.The people were arrested September 4 during an operation conducted by a number of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
In addition to the cases being handled in the criminal division of circuit court, several others will have cases opened against them in Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Those with state charges include 51-year-old Brian Smith, 55-years-old Eric Harris, 48-year-old Tony Loyd Watkins, 33-year-old Melissa Knee 43-year-old Deanna Blue and 29-year-old Justin Coddington.

Coddington did not appear during Monday’s court session. He is an inmate in the Baxter County Detention Center.

The defendants who appeared all entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them.

Another man is mentioned in the probable cause affidavit as being involving with Smith in the sale of cocaine to a confidential informant in April. Records do not indicate the man has been arrested or charged at this point.

Knee is accused of selling methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement in September, October and November 2024.

The sale of methamphetamine involving Watkins is alleged to have taken place in March.

Harris is accused of selling methamphetamine to a confidential source in January.

Those facing federal charges include 61-year-old Kathleen Novy, 39-year-old Sarah Johnson, 43-year-old Jessie Moore, 38-year-old Dawson Hopper and 58-year-old David Rains.

Electronic federal court records do not show that any of the five have yet been before a judge.

They were taken to the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville pending appearances in federal court.

The operation targeted drug sellers in and around the Mountain Home area.

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