Police announce a narcotics search warrant served Friday on a home on Harlin Drive has resulted in the seizure of suspected methamphetamine, paraphernalia believed to be related to the distribution of illegal drugs, and an illegal firearm.
The press release, distributed to local media by Officer Conner Burnes and from the desk of Chief Stephen Monticelli, added three suspects were taken into custody and charges are pending.
Court records show that at about 11 a.m. Friday, a narcotics search warrant was served at a home on the 500 block of Harlin Drive, including all vehicles and outbuildings at the residence. Officer Jacob Brixey, in a statement to prosecutors seeking charges, reported members of the law enforcement strategic response team knocked and announced five times for occupants to come to the door before breaching it, and Austin J. Hicks, 35, West Plains, was placed in hand restraints after officers entered.
A search of the room Hicks had exited reportedly revealed a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol with no round in the chamber and a magazine with three .40-caliber rounds in it, a glass smoking device with a burnt white crystalline residue on it, another smoking device, a package of prescription pills belonging to someone else, a scale, a container with a substance inside that field-tested positive for meth, a clear capsule containing a substance that field-tested positive for meth, and two empty clear capsules.
Hicks has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by possessing a weapon and a controlled substance, all felonies.
His prior convictions include possession of a controlled substance in 2008, unlawful use of a weapon in 2017 and possession of a controlled substance in 2019 and 2022, Brixey added.
Court records show after the last conviction Hicks was placed on supervised probation for three years, with an attached three-year sentence to be executed if he didn't comply with the terms of his probation. The records also show Hicks was issued a summons in late November to appear in court Dec. 18 for a probation violation hearin, but failed to appear, for which a warrant was served to Hicks on Dec. 29. He bonded out on Jan. 1, and is to appear Jan. 16 before Presiding 37th Judicial Circuit Judge Steven Privette for a probation violation hearing, the records show.
Hicks is held on $10,000 bond on the latest charges, and the case is being prosecuted by Howell County Prosecutor Mike Hutchings and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jodi Wake.
Emilee R. Hicks, 23, Caulfield, has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance, a felony, and was also present when the warrant was served, according to court documents.
She was arrested after she allegedly admitted there was a "teener" of methamphetamine in a wallet inside her vehicle, and told Brixey she only sold methamphetamine and was doing so to make ends meet because she is pregnant.
Brixey explained in court documents a "teener" is 1.75 grams, and items found in her vehicle and seized for evidence were a brown paper wrap containing a white crystalline substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, $165 in cash and a blue iPhone.
Court records show Emilee Hicks pleaded guilty in 2021 to felony possession of a controlled substance and was placed on three years supervised probation, with a three-year sentence to be imposed if she failed to comply with the conditions of probation.
It ran concurrently with and was identical to a 2021 Oregon County conviction of possession of a controlled substance.
She is also held on $10,000 bond, and as of Tuesday, has yet to have a court appearance scheduled or hired an attorney, according to court records. The case is also being prosecuted by Hutchings and Wake.
