Suspected cocaine, pot, stolen Harley found during search

 McAlister

Law enforcement officers executing a search warrant Thursday, Dec. 12, on Carroll County Road 733 seized more than four ounces of suspected cocaine, more than nine ounces of suspected marijuana and a stolen Harley-Davidson motorcycle, according to a probable- cause affidavit written by a deputy with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.

Kenton Kohl McCalister, 26, was arrested and booked into the Carroll County Detention Center on charges of possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance with purpose to deliver, possession of meth or cocaine with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft.

McAlister appeared Monday, Dec. 16, before Carroll County District Judge Dale Ramsey, who found probable cause to charge McAlister, appointed a public defender to represent him and set bond at $1 million. Ramsey ordered McAlister to appear at 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 6, in Carroll County Circuit Court in Berryville.

According to the probable- cause affidavit written by CCSO Det. Sgt. Seth Barber, deputies and officers from multi-jurisdictional task forces and other departments executive the search warrant on Dec. 12 at 2620 County Road 733 in Berryville. In a shop building on the property, the affidavit says, a bagged white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine was located. The substance had an approximate weight of 134.6 grams, the affidavit says — 4.75 ounces. Five clear plastic bags and a clear plastic jar containing suspected marijuana also were located, according to the affidavit, with a combined weight of 264.3 grams — 9.3 ounces. Officers also found bags of hypodermic needles and syringes as well as a set of digital scales, the affidavit says. While the search was being conducted, law enforcement initiated a traffic stop on a 2018 Dodge Ram pickup driven by McAlister, the affidavit says. McAlister was taken into custody and Barber was advised that McAlister had agreed to speak with officers and would be returned to the residence on CR 733 to show officers where illegal narcotics were located, the affidavit says.

When McAlister was escorted into the shop building, the affidavit says, the suspected cocaine was in plain view and labeled with an evidence marker to be photographed and documented.

“The defendant observed the suspected cocaine and stated, ‘well you already found it,” the affidavit says.

Barber writes that he and Sheriff Daniel Klatt began to check the vehicle identification numbers on motorcycles, dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles in the shop building and discovered that a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle inside the building had been reported stolen from the Eureka Springs area in July 2022.

During an interview at the sheriff’s office, McAlister confirmed that the white powdery substance found in the shop building was cocaine, belonged to him “and even stated that it was a difficult product to sell in our community,” the affidavit says.

When asked about the motorcycle, McAlister said that he and an alleged accomplice stole it from a storage building in Holiday Island “before he went to prison,” the affidavit says. McAlister said he’d had possession of the motorcycle since the theft, according to the affidavit.