A worker at Lake Ouachita State Park who was arrested last year after he was caught with meth was sentenced to prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Charles Howard James, 61, who lists a Sherwood address, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to six years in prison with four years suspended on each count, to run concurrently, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $315 in court costs upon his release.
Deputy Prosecutor Trent Daniels told The Sentinel-Record on Wednesday James had entered and completed a drug rehabilitation program "on his own" after his arrest which helped to mitigate his sentence.
James was previously convicted in Pulaski County on Nov. 11, 2013, of breaking or entering, theft of property and possession of a firearm by certain persons and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but was later paroled.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Aug. 12, 2020, shortly before 9 p.m., Officer Robert Hauger with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, was flagged down by a man, later identified as James, at the bathrooms in the marina parking lot at Lake Ouachita State Park.
Hauger notes he recognized James as a worker who had been contracted to remove the wastewater treatment plant at the park. James asked him if it would be OK for him to keep working for a short while so he could get his trailer loaded.
Hauger told him he could continue until 10 p.m. when the park closed and "quiet hours" began. James then got into a white Ford F-150 pickup and drove down the access road to the treatment plant as Hauger continued to patrol.
Around 11 p.m., Hauger returned to the area and saw James was still parked on the access road and as he approached James' vehicle he saw James was sitting on the passenger side with both doors open. Hauger observed a glass smoking pipe with residue about 2 feet in front of the truck beside some tools and other items.
When he spoke to James about him still being there, James said, "I talked to a warden earlier and he said it was OK." Hauger explained that he was the person he talked with earlier and he was supposed to leave by 10 p.m.
He asked him about the pipe and James denied knowing anything about it, but when asked about the tools, he admitted he was working with them earlier and that he was the only one who had been at the job site.
A computer check revealed he was a parolee on active supervision with a search waiver on file so Hauger and Officer Michael Boyes who had arrived to assist searched the truck. Inside the truck and in a crate James admitted also belonged to him, officers found four baggies containing what later tested positive for meth, a total of 6.8 grams.
James was taken into custody and was released two days later on a $6,000 bond. His bond was revoked on Nov. 10, 2020, and he was rearrested after he failed a drug test. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Feb. 2 and on March 19, he was released again on $10,000 bond following a hearing and his case was set for a disposition hearing Tuesday.