A Hot Springs man arrested in a drug raid last year was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to felony charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Christopher Paul Jagan, 37, pleaded guilty to possession of meth with purpose to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia with his six-year sentence to run concurrently with the revocation of a three-year suspended sentence from his conviction in 2015 on charges of false imprisonment, aggravated assault and terroristic threatening.
An alleged accomplice, Candice Nicole Davis, 34, of Malvern, who was arrested in the same raid, is set for a review hearing on April 9 in circuit court on felony charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. Additional felony charges against Davis and Jagan stemming from the raid were withdrawn.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Aug. 22, 2017, around 6 a.m., the Hot Springs Police Department's SWAT and Special Investigations Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at a residence on Seventh Street and found Jagan and Davis in the front bedroom asleep on a bed.
During the search of the residence, investigators allegedly located a counterfeit $20 bill, a small baggie and a scanner monitoring the radio channels used by Hot Springs police and SWAT in the living room.
In the front bedroom, officers reportedly located 1.5 grams of suspected meth sitting on a scale, a syringe, a phone, 23 suspected Klonopin pills and a broken glass pipe. Inside a dresser, they allegedly found several empty baggies.
A safe, located in the front bedroom, allegedly contained several empty baggies, 0.6 gram of suspected meth, three syringes, an Arkansas driver's license for Jagan and one pill bottle containing 23 Ambien. Two other Arkansas driver's licenses were reportedly found in Jagan's wallet.
Inside a vehicle on the property, they reportedly located a Taser, glass smoking pipe and cellphone.
At the jail, Davis saw the bottle of Ambien pills and stated they were Jagan's sleeping pills, but the name on the prescription bottle was not Jagan's. Jagan also said the pills were his.
Jagan was previously arrested Feb. 6, 2015, after holding his ex-wife hostage while repeatedly threatening to kill her and their children. He pleaded guilty June 29, 2015, to first-degree false imprisonment, terroristic threatening and aggravated assault and was sentenced to six years in prison, with three years suspended, all to run concurrently.
According to the affidavit, the victim told Garland County sheriff's investigators she had returned home to find Jagan there visiting with their son. He became angry at her about being involved with another man even though they weren't together anymore and repeatedly threatened to kill her.
She said he held her prisoner overnight, telling her he had a gun and would kill her and their children. She said she never saw the gun, but believed he had it.
On the morning of Feb. 6, Jagan allowed his son to ride the bus to school but kept the victim and her daughter at home. Jagan told the victim she would have to get him to town safely and if she didn't, he would kill her. He told her to take him to Pearl Street and hit her in the face on the way there when she refused to give him money.
After the two arrived on Pearl Street, Jagan exited the vehicle and the victim followed. Jagan told her to get back in the car but when she refused, he reportedly stated, "Get back in the car or you will die today." A sanitation truck then drove up and the victim grabbed her daughter from the vehicle and ran toward the sanitation employees.
Sheriff 's deputies located Jagan later that same day and arrested him. Jagan was on parole from previous convictions which was subsequently revoked so he remained in custody.
Local on 03/20/2018