A Washington County man previously accused of manufacturing methamphetamine in Pottsville near a church pleaded guilty in Pope County Circuit Court on Monday to a reduced charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.
Thomas Mayhew of West Fork, a small community near Fayetteville, was sentenced to serve four years in the Arkansas Department of Correction by Circuit Judge Dennis Sutterfield on Monday after plea negotiations with prosecutors. His wife, Tina Mayhew, was sentenced to serve a probationary sentence.
The Mayhews face similar charges in Washington County, according to prosecutors. They have been incarcerated at the Pope County Detention Center since April of last year when they were arrested.
They were represented Monday by attorney Carol Collins of Russellville.
Tipped that fugitives from the Fayetteville area were staying at a residence in Pottsville last year, Arkansas State police Cpl. Blake Wilson and trooper Joe Carter, along with Pottsville Police Chief Blake Herren, allegedly discovered an active drug lab where methamphetamine was being manufactured while attempting to serve the warrants there.
The couple and their three children — ages 14, 13 and 3 — were staying with acquaintances who rent the residence located on Highway 64 across from the Pottsville Assembly of God, Wilson said. The three children were taken into the custody of the Department of Human Services after their parents’ arrest.
Investigators discovered a hot plate in a back laundry room of the residence allegedly in the process of cooking methamphetamine, which was contained in a bottle that was on top of the hot plate. Other drug-making components were located just outside the back door of the residence, police said.
The renters of the house were not at home at the time of the raid and did not have knowledge of the drug manufacturing, Wilson said, adding they had cooperated with the investigation.
The Mayhews were wanted on similar charges in Washington County at the time, as well as for failing to appear in court, according to authorities.
Cocaine plea
An eight-time felon pleaded guilty to delivery of a controlled substance in Pope County Circuit Court on Monday.
Brad Jiles, 30, of Russellville pleaded guilty to selling cocaine and was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison based on a plea negotiation between prosecutors and Jiles’ court-appointed attorney, James Dunham.
During a hearing last week, Dunham said Jiles had rejected a negotiated plea that would have required a 15-year prison sentence. He also said Jiles had been convicted of felonies seven times before.
Most recently, Jiles was convicted of three drug crimes in 2001, sentenced to serve 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He had been paroled, however, by the time he was arrested last year for the most recent offenses.