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Apr 14, 2024

Man pleads guilty to charges stemming from his place of residence

By: Philip Launius Twenty-eight-year-old Aaron Blain Bates and 26-year-old Raven Barbour lived in two houses recently and picked up criminal charges related to their stay in both. Bates appeared in

By: Philip Launius

Twenty-eight-year-old Aaron Blain Bates and 26-year-old Raven Barbour lived in two houses recently and picked up criminal charges related to their stay in both.

Bates appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday and entered a guilty plea to charges against him in two active criminal cases and was given five years in prison.

He was also ordered to pay victim restitution of almost $700.

The couple lived in one house where drugs and drug paraphernalia were found after a police raid. They were then arrested and charged with breaking into a home reported to be owned by two of Bates’ relatives.

The frequent change in living arrangements is made necessary because Bates and Barbour’s are homeless, according to information Barbour included on an application to obtain the services of a public defender.

The initial incident happened in January when a residence located on Red Robin Drive was raided by the Mountain Home police SWAT team.

Six people were found to living in the house. Several pipes used for smoking methamphetamine and a set of digital scales were found in a room occupied by Bates and Barbour.

Bates was arrested and charged with possessing drug paraphernalia. Court records do not show that charges were filed against Barbour in that incident.

The second time police went into a residence and found evidence that led to the arrest of Bates and Barbour was in mid-April.

A person reported to the Baxter County Sheriff’s office that a residence he owned with his sister had been broken into.

The man said he had not been in the house since February when he came to the property to attend to a frozen water pipe.

When Baxter County sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene, they discovered that entry had been made by prying open a side door.

The inside of the house was in disarray, with clothing, food and other items scattered through the residence, the sink was full of dirty dishes and several packages of meat were on the floor near a chest freezer.

The property owner told deputies he felt Bates, identified as his nephew, and Barbour referred to as Bates’ “female companion,” could be the ones responsible for breaking into the house and leaving the mess behind.

The victim told deputies when he left in February, the house was clean.

A pair of size 10 men’s shoes and size 7 women’s shoes were found in the kitchen floor.

There were items found missing from the home, including a laptop computer, set of tools, coins and a pellet rifle.

After the deputies left the scene, the victim called and said he had found a purse under a pile of items on the living room couch. Barbour’s driver’s license and a bag containing a substance field-testing positive for methamphetamine were in the purse.

Bates was charged with breaking or entering, theft of property and possession of methamphetamine stemming from the break-in at the property owned by Bates’ relatives.

According to court records, Bates was also on parole at the time.

When Barbour appeared in court May 15, Prosecutor David Ethredge asked that weekly drug testing be added to the conditions of her bond.

He said she had already tested positive in connection with a case in District Court. Barbour is scheduled to go on trial in early January 2024.

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