A habitual offender arrested earlier this year after a raid on his residence by Hot Springs police was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to multiple drug-related charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Nathan Lanell Tash, 39, of Hot Springs, who has remained in custody since his arrest Jan. 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, involving meth and hydrocodone, and possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the last 12 years suspended, on each count to run concurrently, and ordered to pay $295 in court costs.
Additional felony charges of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate certain crimes, theft by receiving of a firearm and possession of a firearm were withdrawn along with misdemeanor possession counts involving marijuana and Xanax.
Deputy Prosecutor Trent Daniels said Tuesday Tash was sentenced as a habitual offender on the charges, which increased the range of sentence, and could face up to 50 years in prison if he violates any of the conditions of his suspended sentence after his release.
Daniels said Tash had tried to have the search warrant ruled inadmissible but as a parolee he had signed a search waiver, so it was a moot argument. Daniels also noted he felt the search warrant would have been allowed, anyway.
Tash was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, in 2008 and 2011, and of possession of meth or cocaine with purpose to deliver in 2013, all in Garland County.
His wife, Maari Maria Tash, 33, who was arrested at the same time, pleaded guilty Oct. 11 to possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $545 in court costs. Daniels noted Maari Tash had also agreed to cooperate in the case against her husband and testify if needed.
According to the affidavit, on Jan. 17, around 6:30 a.m., investigators with HSPD's Special Investigation Division -- Narcotics executed a search warrant on the couple's then residence on Greenwood Avenue and located both of them inside with their three children.
The investigators found three handguns, two loaded, inside a safe under the bed in the front bedroom. An ACIC check revealed one of the handguns, a Cobra pistol, to have been stolen out of Pulaski County. The investigators also located at least 78 separate rounds in the bedroom and five boxes of ammunition on an entertainment center in the same room.
A remote surveillance monitor was also located on the entertainment center. The investigators observed a live feed from three different security cameras, each of which were located on the residence's exterior, on the monitor.
On the bedroom dresser, they found 2.48 grams of marijuana, a pink grinder with marijuana residue, a partially smoked marijuana cigarette, an Altoids tin with 0.48 gram of meth and two sets of digital scales.
Also located in the bedroom were $534 in cash, two more grinders, several plastic baggies, three cellphones, mail with Nathan Tash's name, three hydrocodone pills and one Xanax pill, along with a fake Dr Pepper can and fake Gillette shaving cream can typically used to conceal drugs.
The investigators found other drugs and paraphernalia in the residence's other rooms as well, including a fake Budweiser can similar to the other fake cans, more baggies, and another set of digital scales with meth residue.
Local on 11/16/2017