Two rural Gassville residents were arrested Tuesday morning when deputies from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office and assisting agencies served a search warrant and outstanding arrest warrants at a residence on Buford Cutoff. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says 46-year-old Vernard Deatherage faces Baxter County and Ozark County felony warrants for failure to register as a sex offender and is charged with a felony count of possession of a firearm by certain persons, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, marijuana; possession of drug paraphernalia; a parole violation from Missouri and as a parole absconder in Arkansas. He is being held in the Baxter County Detention Center without bond on the probation violations and on $15,000 bond on the criminal charges. Forty-year-old Rabonna Jones is charged with a felony possession of a firearm by certain persons and misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. She also faces a Baxter County misdemeanor warrant for obstructing governmental operations. She is also being held in the Baxter County jail with bond was set at $5,000.
According to the sheriff, the investigation began nearly two weeks ago when his office received a complaint of animal theft in which the alleged victim accused Deatherage and Jones of stealing some cats from the victim. As investigators looked into the complaint, it was determined Deatherage was a sex offender not registered with the sheriff’s office and a parole absconder. Jones, who resides with Deatherage, did not cooperate with officers during the investigation. Sheriff Montgomery says his office obtained bench warrants for Deatherage and Jones and a search warrant for the residence. During the search, officers allegedly located a .22 caliber Remington rifle, suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Deatherage and Jones, who are both convicted felons are prohibited from possessing firearms. They were arrested at approximately 10:30 and taken into custody without incident.
The sheriff says Deatherage was convicted of statutory rape and sodomy in Douglas County in February 2002 involving two nine-year-old girls. According to Sheriff Montgomery, information indicates he was released from prison in September of last year on other unrelated charges, but he did not register with law enforcement after his release.
Deatherage and Jones will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court at a later date, and Jones is also set to appear in Baxter County District Court.
The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the investigation by the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections, the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ Canine Team and the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force.
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