Woman pleads guilty to drug charge, agrees to testify against co-defendant

Hayleigh Marie Hathcock - Submitted photo
Hayleigh Marie Hathcock - Submitted photo

A local woman arrested on multiple felony charges following a traffic stop in a stolen vehicle earlier this year was sentenced to probation on one count Tuesday after agreeing to testify against her alleged accomplice.

Hayleigh Marie Hathcock, 21, of Hot Springs, who had no prior felony history, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to five years' probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $575 in court costs.

Additional felony charges of possession of meth with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, involving pills, and an additional count of possession of drug paraphernalia were all withdrawn in exchange for Hathcock's agreement to testify against her co-defendant, James Michael "Gator" Bailey, 34, who was arrested on the same charges and an additional charge of theft by receiving stemming from the stolen vehicle.

Both were arrested on April 14 and Hathcock had remained in custody until Tuesday in lieu of a $65,000 bond. Bailey, whose bond has since been reduced to $25,000, remained in custody Friday and is set for a disposition hearing on Oct. 6.

According to the probable cause affidavit, on April 14, shortly after 11 p.m., Hot Springs police Officer William Stockwell made a traffic stop on a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado in the 200 block of West Grand Avenue after noticing the license plate was obscured. A check of the vehicle revealed it had been reported stolen.

The driver, identified as Bailey, and passenger, identified as Hathcock, were both taken into custody.

During a search of the vehicle, officers reportedly located several bags in the front passenger seat. Inside one was a clear plastic bag with 59 grams, or over 2 ounces, of what later tested positive for meth, along with digital scales and several small baggies.

Another of the bags reportedly contained a bag of marijuana, 2.5 grams, marijuana wax, 1.3 gram, 10 Clonazepam pills, and one hydrocodone pill. Behind the passenger seat, they found a hard black case that contained several used syringes and one filled with 0.4 gram of meth, two pipes, and a bank bag with an undisclosed amount of money.

The affidavit notes the truck was valued at $5,425. The HSPD's Special Investigations Division seized all the evidence and money and assumed the investigation.

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