Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

2 Arrests Made For Drugs

By JOHN MILLER

Clark County's Sheriff's Office made two drug-related arrests recently, one involving a man in Gurdon.

On Friday, Aug. 29, the CCSO, along with the Gurdon Police Department, arrested Mark Caple, 30, of Benton.

According to the CCSO report, the investigation began Thursday, Aug. 28, when officers with the GPD made an arrest involving the possession of about 0.5 grams of methamphetamine.

Gurdon City Marshal David Childres, working with the CCSO, developed information leading to Caple's arrest the next day.

Caple was taken into custody by Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker and his deputies, following the delivery of approximately seven grams of methamphetamine to a location near Caddo Valley. An additional 3.5 grams of the narcotic was recovered following the arrest.

Caple was formally charged in the Clark County Circuit Court on single counts of delivery of a controlled substance with intent to delivery. Both are class Y felonies carrying possible sentences of 10 to 40 years or life in the penitentiary.

According to Tucker, methamphetamines are considered a schedule II controlled substance with legitimate medical use in limited areas, but an extremely high potential for abuse and addiction.

He said methamphetamine abuse and trafficking is increasing and has been referred to as the "crack of the '90's."

Tucker said illegal methamphetamine is normally manufactured through chemical synthesis in clandestine labs involving the danger of possible explosion, fire and toxic waste contamination.

The street value of the 10.5 grams of meth recovered was about $1,000, he said.

In the other bust, also the result of an ongoing investigation, David Smith, 37, of Arkadelphia, was arrested.

Tucker said Smith's arrest was part of an extended operation which led to the involvement of a number of law enforcement agencies in two states, along with several other arrests.

Smith, though, was actually arrested by narcotics detectives from the Little Rock and Benton police departments, Tucker said, in connection with the seizure of a quantity of cocaine.

Tucker and his deputies assisted the other departments in executing a search warrant at Smith's home to "identify and recover documents and records related to narcotics, trafficking and proceeds from drug sales."

While the investigation continues, the information on Smith will be presented to a grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas.

Tucker said more arrests are possible in this case and are anticipated "upon the issuance of criminal indictments" against others in the case.