Judge orders drug treatment for firearm-case defendant
A Searcy man indicted by a federal grand jury last year on a charge of possession of an unregistered firearm — a pipe bomb — was ordered released from pretrial detention Friday by a federal magistrate judge.
Judge Beth Deere ordered Christopher Mize, 56, to go into in-patient substance abuse treatment, which will be followed by residency in a chemical-free living facility until his case is adjudicated.
Mize was escorted into the courtroom Friday by federal marshals who had transported him from the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tenn.
According to an arrest affidavit by the Searcy Police Department, Mize was arrested Jan. 18, 2020, after an early morning traffic stop during which police found a pipe bomb in the console of his car. Mize admitted under questioning to making the pipe bomb, the affidavit said.
He was charged in White County with one count of criminal use of a prohibited weapon.
Mize was indicted Oct. 6 on the federal charge of possession of an unregistered firearm, and the state charge against him was dropped.
In ordering his release, Deere agreed to send Mize to a Russellville facility for in-patient treatment. Mize’s attorney, KenDrell Collins with the Federal Public Defenders Office in Little Rock, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Crews agreed on the terms of Mize’s release.
“We’re asking that he be released to that facility,” Collins told the judge. “They have a room for him at Freedom House in Russellville on Monday, so if there’s any way, we would like for him to be released from jail on Monday.”
Deere outlined the conditions Mize will be required to follow during his release, which included that he remain in chemical-free living after in-patient treatment for the duration of his case.
“If for any reason you don’t abide by these conditions, Mr. Crews will file a revocation petition, and if you’re revoked, you will go to jail until your case is resolved,” Deere told Mize. “In other words, we don’t do doovers. Once you’re revoked, you’re revoked.”