Marijuana wax leads to arrest

BENTONVILLE — A man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an operation police say p roduced marijuana concentrate.

Raymond Edward Shackelferd, 23, of 4 Astwood in Bella Vista was arrested in connection with manufacture of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver and felony possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records

Shackelferd had a cigarette case with a half gram of marijuana in it and told police he had “dabs” in his room when police searched a Bentonville home where he was staying, according to a police affidavit.

The woman holding the lease for the duplex, Tracey Nicole Taylor, 29, of 3503 S.W. Victoria Blvd., No. B, was arrested Aug. 16 in connection with manufacture of a schedule IV substance, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, a felony count of possession of drug paraphernalia and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court documents.

The Bentonville SWAT team raided the duplex at

3503 S.W. Victoria Blvd. on Aug. 4, according to a police affidavit, and found 12.2 grams of marijuana, glass smoking pipes and items used to extract marijuana “wax” from the leaves and stems of the plant.

Police were tipped off in June to drug activity at the duplex after a person said a man who went by the name “Hayden” and drove a green motorcycle had been packaging marijuana for others there, according the affidavit.

After unsuccessfully attempting to talk to the residents, police seized and searched a trash bin Aug. 3, according to court documents. They found a heatsealed bag that tested positive for marijuana. A search warrant was issued and the home was searched the next day.

Shackelferd had a green motorcycle and Taylor and Shackelferd appeared to share a bedroom in the duplex, according to court documents. A third person living in the duplex wasn’t arrested in connection to the manufacturing operation.

Police searched the bedroom and found an assortment of drug paraphernalia including glass pipes, baggies with dollar signs on them and digital scales. Two laptop computers, a cell phone and what police believed to be a ledger documenting drug sales were seized, according to affidavits for Taylor and Shackelferd’s arrests.

Police found items commonly used in producing THC extract in the bedroom, including glass plates covered with brown residue and a blowtorch, according to the affidavits. From the kitchen they seized a blender caked with what appeared to be marijuana flakes. A waxy substance on paper in the freezer also was seized. Under a

grill outside the duplex police found a container of grassy sludge with the marijuana leftover from the production operation, according to the affidavits.

Samples of the substances were sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab and warrants were issued for Taylor and Shackelferd.

Taylor was released from the Benton County Jail on a $ 5,000 bond Aug. 18, according to court documents. Shackelferd was released Thursday from jail on a $5,000 bond.

The Bentonville arrests are the first manufacturing operation the agency has suspected, said Cpl. Aaron Faust, a detective with the Bentonville Police Department.

The THC extract is odorless and is typically smoked using an e-cigarette, making it difficult to detect and potentially allowing others to be exposed to it without their knowledge, Faust said.

“You can’t smell it,” Faust said.

Shackleferd