A teenager living alone in a portable building has been charged as an adult in an Independence County drug case.
Court information filed Wednesday says members of the 16th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Independence County Sheriff’s Department, the Batesville Police Department, and the Arkansas State Police Narcotics Division all worked on the case, particularly in keeping surveillance of Brodie D. Acklin, 16, over the past several months.
Authorities accuse Acklin of dealing large amounts of various narcotics, primarily to minors and young adults.
According to his arrest affidavit, a search warrant was executed at Acklin’s Bethesda residence, which is noted in the affidavit as a Bald Eagle Barn portable building, on Aug. 1.
The affidavit says when authorities arrived, Acklin was lying in bed with a loaded AR-15 rifle and two loaded 30-round ammunition magazines. In addition, authorities found almost $1,110 in cash beside the bed, 28 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, packing materials, bagged marijuana, 107 THC vape cartridges, an enclosure containing four marijuana plant seedlings, and one vial of THC liquid extract.
Acklin was arrested and transported to the Craighead County Juvenile Detention Center. His bond was set at $10,000.
The felony charges pending as a result of the search warrant are: possession of a Schedule I controlled substance (psilocybin mushrooms) with the purpose to deliver; possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance (marijuana) with the purpose to deliver; simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms; and maintaining a drug premises within 1,000 feet of a drug-free zone.
Acklin’s residence is located approximately 800 feet from a church, according to the affidavit.
