A Pope County juvenile probation officer accused of selling methamphetamine to an undercover informant is no longer employed in that capacity, Circuit Judge Ken Coker said Wednesday.
Chris Schmidt, 32, of Dover was arrested after authorities said he sold meth to the informant at the parking lot of Russellville’s Wal-Mart around 10:30 p.m., according to court documents. Fifth Judicial District prosecutor David Gibbons of Clarksville said he intends to file delivery of a controlled substance charges against Schmidt, along with charges of possessing meth with intent to deliver and possession of marijuana.
Coker, Schmidt’s supervisor and the judge who presides over juvenile cases in the Fifth Judicial District, which includes Pope County, did not specify if Schmidt was fired or if he voluntarily resigned.
Schmidt waived a probable cause hearing in front of District Judge Don Bourne Wednesday through his attorney, Michael Robbins. Jack Thorp, a deputy prosecutor for the Fifth Judicial District, requested Schmidt to be detained in lieu of a $100,000 bond, although Bourne set Schmidt’s commercial bond requirement at $50,000.
Schmidt posted 10 percent of the bond amount and was freed by Wednesday afternoon, according to jail officials. He is to be arraigned in Pope County Circuit Court on March 7 in front of Circuit Judge John Patterson.
Schmidt was ordered to stay away from the juvenile probation office at the Pope County Courthouse as a condition of his pretrial release.
As a juvenile probation officer, Schmidt is responsible for monitoring the progress of children convicted of crimes through the county’s juvenile court system, including those convicted of drug offenses. Gibbons said there was no evidence to indicate Schmidt had sold any drugs to those under his supervision, however.
Gibbons and Pope County Sheriff Jay Winters both confirmed Schmidt was under investigation by authorities at the time he was arrested.
Gibbons said Schmidt would likely be charged with endangering the welfare of a minor as well because he left his 9-year-old son home alone while he was making the drug transaction, according to police reports.
Delivering a controlled substance is a Class Y felony punishable by 10-40 years or life in prison.