A local man arrested when Hot Springs police executed a search warrant on a residence he was at this summer was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to felony drug charges.
Timothy Earl Johnson, 36, who has remained in custody since his arrest Aug. 4, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with purpose to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to three years in prison on each count, to run concurrently, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $295 in court costs.
Additional felony charges of unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate certain crimes and first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana with purpose to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia were withdrawn by prosecutors.
An alleged accomplice, Latosha Lynn Williams, 31, the listed resident of the Hudson Street house that was raided, was arrested at the same time as Johnson, but the charges against her were withdrawn on Nov. 13.
According to the affidavit, on Aug. 4, shortly after 6 a.m., officers with the police Special Investigations Narcotics Unit and the S.W.A.T. team executed a search warrant on a residence in the 100 block of Hudson and encountered Johnson on the front porch. He reportedly "became very uncooperative" and would not comply with the officers' commands.
Johnson finally partially complied by getting on his knees but continued yelling. Before he could get back up, S.W.A.T. team officers took him to the ground with minimal force as Johnson began kicking and resisting.
They were finally able to get him handcuffed and into a waiting unit after a short struggle. At this time, Williams emerged from the residence and was taken into custody without incident.
Upon entering the residence, officers located a 6-month-old baby lying on the sofa unattended.
Officers located a plastic bag with 0.2 gram of a white powder substance which later tested positive for cocaine and a bag of marijuana, approximately 1.7 grams, on the porch. Inside the residence, they found two glass smoking pipes and a pellet pistol that was "realistic in looks."
Local on 12/21/2017