Photo: Christopher Croteau
A Mountain Home man pled guilty to charges in two criminal cases during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
Forty-year-old Christopher Croteau was sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to complete the 14th Judicial District’s Drug Court Program.
Croteau was facing charges in two drug-related cases, both opened last year.
In mid-February last year, Croteau was arrested and charged with traffic violations, as well as fleeing on foot and possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
The February pursuit was somewhat tamer that others in Croteau’s history.
He was arrested after a Mountain Home police officer saw a southbound vehicle exceeding the posted speed limit.
After Croteau realized he was about to be stopped, he was reported to have run a stop sign at McClure and Glenbriar.
The officer estimated Croteau drove through the intersection at about 40 miles per hour.
The chase continued until Croteau’s vehicle pulled into a driveway along Stetson Drive.
As has been his pattern, Croteau bolted from the vehicle and ran around to the back of the house.
The officer recognized Croteau from earlier contacts and yelled for him to stop. When the officer made it to the back yard, he reported Croteau was standing still with his hands up.
Croteau told the officer he had thrown something away in the yard. A blue container holding needles was located.
The officer was also exposed to what Croteau described as “liquid meth.”
The officer was treated at Baxter Regional Medical Center for the methamphetamine exposure.
ARRESTED BY FUGITIVE TASK FORCE
A fugitive task force from Arkansas Community Corrections was looking for Croteau in late September last year.
After receiving a tip, the task force picked up Croteau, after he was found hiding in a residence along Langston Street in Mountain Home.
Officers reported knocking for about 10 minutes, before a female opened the door, and Croteau was taken into custody without incident.
Unfortunately for Croteau, the officers also found several syringes, a small plastic bag containing a white crystalline powder residue field testing positive for methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana.
Croteau was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia used to ingest marijuana and methamphetamine.
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