Photo: Robert Martinell
A Baxter County man, 36-year-old Robert Martinell of Mountain Home, is being held on $100,000 bond in the Stone County Detention Center on drug-related charges, including one with purpose to deliver methamphetamine.
Martinell’s latest arrest has apparently triggered the re-opening of four cases in Baxter County dating back to 2008, according to online court documents.
In 2016, Martinell was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with eight to serve and two suspended after pleading guilty to a number of charges, including possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and theft of property.
In his latest brush with law enforcement, Martinell was a passenger in a vehicle Jan. 15 traveling north on State Highway 5 in Stone County and reportedly observed by a 16th Judicial District Drug Task Force agent crossing the centerline of the highway several times.
A check with the National and Arkansas Crime Information Center databases indicated both the driver and Martinell had suspended driver’s licenses, and the Mountain Home man was on active parole supervision.
Martinell reportedly placed a prescription bottle with a woman’s name on it labeled as “cetrizine” on the trunk of the vehicle during the search.
A further search allegedly revealed a plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance and residue in the passenger seat where Martinell had been sitting. A large quantity of the illegal substance was detected scattered on the floor of the vehicle Martinell said he dropped when the agent brought the two men to the front of their vehicle. All later field tested positive for meth.
Further inventory of the vehicle reportedly revealed several prescription bottles belonging to Martinell, drug paraphernalia and multiple Suboxone strips.
In an interview the following day, Martinell said he had purchased the meth for $800 prior to the traffic stop the previous day.
He allegedly said the two men were en route to Mountain Home at the time of the stop, where he planned to deal the meth to narcotic associates. He said he had done so four to five times to supplement his income and has been dealing meth for about four months.
He said the prescription bottle belonged to the owner of the car, with his medication inside the container.
Martinell has been charged with three felony drug-related offenses, as well as tampering with physical evidence and an enhancement for being a habitual offender.
Photo: Blake Kyler Possehl
The driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Blake Kyler Possehl, whose last address on earlier court documents was in Mountain Home, has been charged with a felony count of drug paraphernalia and a misdemeanor of driving on a suspended license. His bond was set at $5,000.
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