Dale Malcevicz (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
A Mountain Home man who was arrested on drug charges in May and September appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court last Monday and pled not guilty to the charges against him.
Thirty-six-year-old Dale Malcevicz was arrested May 22 by an Arkansas state trooper when he pulled into a parking space at the Executive Inn and was found to have drugs in his vehicle.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the trooper had first noticed the license plate on the vehicle being driven by Malcevicz had expired. He was also found to have an active arrest warrant issued by the Gassville Police Department.
Malcevicz asked the trooper if he would give the keys to his vehicle to his girlfriend who was staying at the Executive Inn. When the trooper looked into the truck, he saw a small plastic bag containing methamphetamine and several pipes used for smoking the drug.
On Aug. 23, Malcevicz drew the attention of Mountain Home police officers because of erratic driving that appeared to be aimed at evading the officers. When the vehicle pulled into a parking space at the Mountain Home Inn, police pulled behind his vehicle.
According to the probable cause affidavit, when officers contacted Malcevicz, he appeared “very nervous.”
He was found to be on active probation with a search waiver on file permitting a warrant-less search of his person and property.
A Baxter County sheriff’s deputy was also involved in the incident, and he found people hiding under a cover in the bed of the truck.
Drugs, including methamphetamine and Adderall, as well as smoking pipes were reported to have been found.
Malcevicz was on probation from a theft case filed against him in mid-March 2022.
According to the probable cause affidavit in that case, Malcevicz and then 26-year-old Andrea Stacy were accused of going into various vehicles in the parking lot of a local movie theater and stealing property while victims were inside watching a film.
Malcevicz pled guilty to his charges stemming from the incident during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court and was put on probation for six years.
Stacy also entered a guilty plea to the charges against her and was also put on probation for six years.
The initial charges filed against the couple included simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, breaking or entering, theft by receiving and fraudulent use of a credit or debit card.
Some of the charges were filed against both and others filed against only one of the suspects, and some charges were dismissed by the state.
REPORTS TO MHPD
Items reported taken during a three-day period in early March 2022 included a handgun, cellphones, cameras, watches, laptop computers, wallets, purses, credit/debit cards and cash.
USED STOLEN DEBIT CARD
Police developed Malcevicz and Stacy as suspects after they had allegedly used one of the stolen debit cards at a local convenience store.
The couple was seen leaving a fast-food restaurant on March 10. Police were able to make a traffic stop and reported finding the items stolen from vehicles at the parking lot in plain view in the couple’s vehicle.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Stacy was reported to have what appeared to be methamphetamine and a glass-smoking pipe on her person.
A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle, and police found a stolen handgun, along with a secret compartment in the driver’s seat where three bags of suspected methamphetamine were located, along with glass-smoking pipes and digital scales.
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