Repeat offender gets maximum of 30 years for drugs after trial
A habitual offender arrested with 1.7 grams of meth and a pipe last year while on parole was sentenced to the maximum of 30 years in prison Tuesday after a one-day trial in Garland County Circuit Court where he represented himself.
Lee Oliver Counts Jr., 36, who has remained in custody since his arrest on the charges March 15, 2023, was found guilty of felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia, each normally punishable by up to six years in prison, but the maximum was extended to 15 years on each count because of his status as a habitual offender with multiple prior felony convictions.
Deputy Prosecutor Brock Price told The Sentinel-Record Wednesday the jury deliberated for less than 20 minutes before finding Counts guilty of the felony counts as well as misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, fleeing on foot and obstructing governmental operations, and deliberated again for less than 20 minutes before recommending the maximum on each count and for Judge Kara Petro to run the sentences consecutively for a total of 30 years in prison.
“He had 1.7 grams of meth in a baggie and a glass pipe,” Price said. “He also had 9-mm ammunition in his pocket and his most recent felony conviction was a federal conviction for felon in possession of a firearm, for which he was still on parole when he got arrested for the meth.”
Price, who represented the state along with Deputy Prosecutor Katrina Taylor, said he questioned the responding Hot Springs police officers “who had to tackle him and Tase him because of his fleeing and resisting, and Katrina questioned the chemist from the crime lab that weighed
and tested the drugs.”
Counts opted to waive having an attorney appointed when he pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 8, 2023, and to represent himself “pro se” instead, Price said, adding, “So that was interesting.”
Prosecutors had amended the charges against Counts on Feb. 2 to reflect his status as a habitual offender with four prior felony convictions and “a multitude of misdemeanor convictions of a similar nature,” Price said, including priors for fleeing, resisting arrest, and obstructing.
“I think there were a few things that contributed to that sentence,” Price said, “one being that although he wasn’t charged with a theft, it was pretty clear from the evidence presented that he had been prowling the neighborhood and stealing. He had multiple priors for breaking or entering.”
He said the fact Counts “refused to comply with the officers when they arrived, and his fleeing causing an injury to one officer” was also a factor especially since he had priors “for doing that same thing repeatedly.”
Price also noted the fact he was on parole for felon in possession of a firearm and had ammunition in his pocket.
“Lastly it was just a total lack of accountability,” he said. “His defense was not that he was factually innocent, but rather that the officers never should have stopped him to begin with. Even after the jury convicted him, in the sentencing phase he continued to argue that the search was illegal, which it wasn’t.”
Price said he thinks “it was a combination of him being a repeat offender, the nature of why the cops were even called to begin with, his noncompliance with officers, and his total lack of accountability.”
According to the probable cause affidavit, on March 15, 2023, shortly after 7:30 p.m., Hot Springs police responded to a residence in the 200 block of Mountain Valley Street regarding a call about a suspicious person.
The homeowner, 37, stated he had previously seen a man via his security camera on the front porch of his residence around 2 a.m. the day before. He then spotted the same man that evening walking in the 200 block of Mountain Valley and confronted him. He said he showed him the video and asked if that was him and the man, later identified as Counts, acknowledged it was him so the man began to call police.
At that point, Counts stated he “did not want to stay” and began walking away. The homeowner followed him to the corner of Mountain Valley and Parallel streets where Officer 1st Class Jonathan Israel made contact with both men.
After speaking with the homeowner, Israel directed Counts to sit down on the curb. He refused at first, but then complied. When asked for his name, Counts was hesitant, refusing multiple times, and then gave a false name and date of birth. Due to his failure to provide his true identity, Israel began to take him into custody.
As officers attempted to detain Counts, he pulled away and fled on foot. Officers tackled him, but he continued to refuse to put his hands behind his back. Sgt. Patrick Langley deployed his Taser, briefly incapacitating Counts, and they were able to take him into custody without further incident although one officer was injured during the pursuit.
During a search of Counts’ person, officers found a bag with 3.0 grams of what later tested positive for meth, and a bowl pipe with residue. They also found five 9-mm bullets and what was later identified as a Carisoprodol pill in his pockets.
A computer check showed Counts was on active probation and had a warrant for a probation violation through the U.S. Board of Parole so U.S. Marshals were notified.
According to court records, Counts was convicted of breaking or entering in 2014 and sentenced to three years in prison. He was arrested on Sept. 12, 2019, for theft of a firearm and possession of a firearm by certain persons, but the state charges were later withdrawn because he was indicted federally.