Nicholas Koskinen (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
A Mountain Home man who has faced mainly drug-related criminal charges since 2009 was back in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
When 39-year-old Nicholas Thomas Koskinen pled not guilty to the latest charges against him. He had been paroled and released from prison only 71 days before his latest arrest.
His parole status now shows revoked.
A request was made to lower Koskinen’s $25,000 bond, but Circuit Judge John Putman said no and left the bond unchanged.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Carter said the state opposed any change in the bond because of the seriousness of the charges against Koskinen.
A majority of the charges in Koskinen’s 11 criminal cases have stemmed from traffic stops which led to finding drugs and drug paraphernalia.
The most recent arrest came Aug. 1 after the black Nissan passenger van he was driving was stopped in Gassville for going 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
He was on parole at the time with a valid search waiver on file allowing for warrantless searches of his person and property. The search yielded a “substantial quantity of drugs and drug paraphernalia.”
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers found:
–32 capsules containing a substance testing positive for fentanyl
–2 pills containing clonazepam
–About 9 grams of methamphetamine
–12 alprazolam pill
–A plastic bag containing a substance believed to be psyllium mushrooms
–6.1 grams of marijuana.
In addition to the drugs, items of drug paraphernalia were located during the search. The items included glass smoking pipes, digital scales, a black magnetic box commonly used to conceal illegal substances in the undercarriage of a vehicle and multiple containers holding methamphetamine residue.
In past cases, he has been charged with being in possession of other drugs including suboxone, hydrocodone and oxycodone.
According to court records, Koskinen has been convicted of 23 separate felonies in 11 different cases. All of the cases show to have been opened in Baxter County except for one filed in Miller County.
His newest charges include trafficking Fentynal, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia and traffic violations.
Koskinen is an inmate in the Baxter County Detention Center.
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