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Monticello Firefighters Spent 6 hours Battling "Old Bradley Mill" Fire in Warren, Saturday Night. Photo by David Forrest, of the Guesthouse.

On a day when emergency personnel are recognized across the nation, our local fire dept, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, state troopers, and both ambulance services were busy proving how important they are to our community.

Here’s a portion of their day…….

Before midnight Friday, Monticello Fire & Rescue was paged out to a single car wreck on HWY 293 near Selma, where an Oldsmobile’s 3 passengers needed them.  Arkansas State Troopers worked the wreck, assisted by Drew County Sheriff’s Deputies.  SEEMS transported the 3 victims to Drew Memorial.  Although it turns out that Fire & Rescue weren’t needed, the caller who reported the crash believed the 3 victims were pinned inside the vehicle.

Prior to this Arkansas State Troopers had made 3 DWI arrests late in the evening, protecting Drew County drivers.

4 am Car Crash on Barkada Road, Saturday.

Around 4am, Saturday morning, a Chrysler 300 crashed into a tree, 4 miles out, on Barkada Road.  The person who called this in reported that the driver was still inside the car, and it looked like the car was on fire.  Fire & Rescue were called out to save the crash victim.  When Drew County Deputies arrived on the scene, with Fire & Rescue right behind them, it was discovered that the “possible fire” was “air bag dust”, but at 4 in the morning, the caller couldn’t tell.  MASI transported the driver to DMH.  Triple A towed the vehicle.

First Responders Recognized by Local Veterans at Flag Dedication Ceremony at 1st Baptist Church

Several of our emergency personnel were recognized for their dedication and service, during a flag and flagpole dedication at First Baptist Church at 10 o’clock, by our local veteran’s organizations and Woodmen of the World.

House Fire at Dead Man's Curve, Saturday, 12:45.

Many of them attended a Community Prayer Rally at the Drew County Courthouse at noon, but were called out to a double-wide mobile home at 12:45, which was called in “the cars are there, but no one is standing outside.”  The photo shows how engulfed the structure was when it was called in.  Firefighters battled the blaze for 4 hours, hauling water from Carpenter Road, 1.5 miles away, until the fire was out.  Also worth noting, SEEMS came to the scene, “just in case” there would’ve been someone inside who needed medical care, and also, Sheriff Gober, an off-duty auxiliary deputy, and an area constable were at the fire, in case they were needed.

SEEMS Displayed a U. S. Flag on their Ambulance, in Honor of 9/11, Saturday

After getting the trucks ready for their next call, whatever it may be, and a very late lunch (at around 4:30), they got to sit down for the first time all day.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the day for the Monticello Fire Dept.  The “Old Bradley Mill” in Warren caught on fire around 11 pm, Saturday night, and they were called to assist Warren’s Fire Dept.  Monticello’s firefighters arrived back at the fire-station 6 hours later.

Throughout the day, our Monticello Police and Drew County Sheriff’s Deputies answered calls of all types, around the clock.  SEEMS and MASI were on duty, providing their services, as always, at a moments notice.   The emergency room staff at Drew Memorial were ready and waiting, for whatever illness or injury came through the door next.

There wasn’t a minute of the day that there wasn’t a dispatcher standing by take you call, in case of emergency at MPD, ready to send whichever of these dedicated public workers your way, in your time of need.

As we look back on 9/11/2001, we should also recognize that same dedication that our Drew County emergency personel serve us with.

Thomas Allen Adams, age 31, Tuesday, accepted a “no contest” plea for the January 25 rape of a Wilmar area child.

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On Thursday, August 26, 2010 agents of the Tenth Drug Task Force were attempting to stop a vehicle driven by James Daniels, age 39, formerly of Warren, currently residing in Little Rock, Arkansas.  A search warrant had been obtained for the vehicle prior to the stop as information had been received that the vehicle was transporting narcotics to South Arkansas.

The stop occurred on County Road 133 near the intersection of 133 and Highway 35.

As Agents made the initial stop on the vehicle, a second Task Force vehicle pulled in front of the vehicle driven by Daniels and occupied by three other suspects. As Agents exited from the blocking vehicle, Daniels accelerated his vehicle as it swerved towards and rammed the blocking vehicle, striking a DTF agent. The agent fired on Daniels’ vehicle, striking the front and rear passenger side tires. (more…)

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Armonzo Watkins & Samantha Barnett at Bond Hearing

Brittany Garcia & Santonio Vaughn at 1st Appearance Hearing.

At 4:02, Saturday morning, a 911 call came into the Monticello Police Dept., reporting a robbery at one of the Park Hill apartments, on North Slemmons St.

Jeffery Thomas, after arrest.

Two of the victims were treated and released from Drew Memorial Hospital, later in the day, Saturday. (more…)

Duane Gonder, age 25 of Monticello, plead guilty, Friday morning, to the charges of 1st degree murder of his brother, Marcus Gonder, aggravated assault, and attempted introduction of a prohibited item into a jail.

Gonder was sentenced to serve 46 years in the Arkansas Dept. of Correction.

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Rodney Scales, age 36 of Dermott, was found guilty by a Drew County jury Friday, on the charges of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and fleeing (without concern for human life).

Scales was sentenced to 80 years on the cocaine charge, and 4 years on the fleeing charge.  The jury recommended the charges run consecutive, for a total of 84.  Scales will not be eligible for parole for approximately 21 years.

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Antwon Clifton, age 16 of Wilmar, died Tuesday, after being removed from life support at Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

The youth was the victim of drowning at Lake Monticello on Monday, June 7.

The obituary will be posted when detail are announced.  (more…)

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Just before 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, Ward Rabb, a local pilot, was returning to Monticello from a trip to Kansas, when the single propeller airplane he was flying, began having engine trouble, and had to perform an emergency landing, on HWY 425 North, near Campground Road.

According to Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober, Rabb had contacted the FAA, prior to landing the plane on the highway. Neither the pilot or the plane’s other passenger were injured.

The plane, shown here, was pushed into a nearby yard; repaired; and then took off, disappearing over a hill, as spectators watched.

According to Lt. Jason Akers of the 10th Drug Task Force, a Central Arkansas based methamphetamine trafficking operation was shut down by Task Force Agents this past week.

According to Akers, an investigation into methaphetamine traffickers from Little Rock, Arkansas that began in Monticello resulted in the arrest of several suspects believed to be involved in bringing the drug to Bradley, Drew and other counties throughout the State. 

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A 21 year old Monticello man was arrested on a warrant by the Monticello Police Dept, last week and is being held on a $300,00 bond, following his 1st appearance hearing Thursday. (more…)

Documents filed with the Drew County Circuit Clerks office show the the charges against Robbie Taylor have been “nolle prossed”, by the prosecuting attorney’s office, due to issues involving evidence. 

The court order includes the phrases,”without prejudice,” and “insufficient evidence to convict the defendant at this time.” (more…)

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Between 9:30-10 p.m., Tuesday evening, as many North and South Gabbert Street residents were getting ready for quiet night’s rest, police lights and sirens caught everyone’s attention, not once, but twice, as a police chase that began in McGehee, after a reported domestic disturbance, headed toward Lincoln County, and then turned south, traveling down HWY 83, North Gabbert Street,  and South Gabbert Street, before the driver hit a dead end and reversed, traveling back north on South Gabbert and North Gabbert, then east on Oakland, north on Cooper, and finally gave up at the end of East Calhoun Street

The pursuit, which started with McGehee police, grew to include Arkansas State Police Troop E and Troop F patrol units, as well as Drew County deputies and Monticello police officers.

At the dead end of Calhoun Street, the suspect stopped the car, and officers quickly took  the driver and female passenger out of the vehicle, and placed them under arrest. (more…)

Following Monday’s MLive story “New Year’s Eve Bullet Lands in Child’s Bed”, reports of another home being hit by New Year’s Eve stray bullets have been reported to MonticelloLive.

A home near the intersection of East Jackson and Cherry Streets was hit, not only once New Year’s Eve, but twice. (more…)

A Drew County jury found Benjamin Briney not guilty of aggravated animal cruelty, following the admitted beating to death of a horse on August 1, with a baseball bat.

This is Arkansas’ first attempt at prosecuting someone under the new “felony aggravated animal cruelty” law that went into effect as of midnight on July 31.  The death of this horse occurred approximately one hour later. (more…)

12 area residents and a local bank have been awarded money owed to them, following a recent restitution hearing against Rick Funderburg, former owner of Rick’s Auto Outlet, of Monticello, for damages done in the criminal case against him, in which he pled guilty in December of 2005. (more…)

Around 11 o’clock, Monday morning, as an attorney and his client were likely discussing their case before leaving the courthouse parking lot, the client reached into the back seat of the attorney’s pick-up truck to get a box.

When he moved the box, a 243 rifle, reportedly, accidentally fired, sending it’s bullet out the back passenger side of the attorney’s truck, and into the tailgate of the Drew County Environmental Enforcement vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, parked next to the north entrance of the courthouse.  Witnesses said that there were several rifles in the back of the vehicle. (more…)

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According to Lt. Jason Akers of the Tenth Drug Task Force, task force agents arrested a Monticello man after executing a search warrant at his Monticello apartment. (more…)

An 18-year-old Monticello man was killed in a head-on collision between the Toyota pick-up he was driving and a truck from the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Dept., around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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Usually the follow up reports after a local festival don’t include arrest reports, but for the second consecutive year, this has been the case in Monticello. (more…)

According to Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober, last Wednesday, a Cominto area man saw flames coming up on the outside of his home near the kitchen area.  At the time, the man and two children were inside of the residence, (more…)

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While responding to a report about a woman running down the street, being chased by 2 men in a pick-up, Thursday night around midnight, Monticello Police officers stopped the truck, spoke to all persons involved, and then arrested all 3 persons. (more…)

According to Lt. Jason Akers of the Tenth Drug Task Force, a Drew County man is facing methamphetamine manufacturing and related charges after a search warrant was executed at his residence last week. (more…)

Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober has released the attached press release detailing information leading to the arrest of the “Bolt Cutter Bandit”, the man who got out of jail Tuesday, and then was arrested Thursday for cutting the chain link fence to the Walmart garden center (Wednesday night).

Apparently the man called the Sheriff’s Dept., to return a “stolen laptop”, but actually gave them a “different stolen laptop.”

Other stolen items were also recovered. (more…)