A defense attorney representing one of the individuals charged with drug trafficking in Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division has filed a motion seeking to suppress evidence, arguing it was obtained unlawfully.
Gray Dellinger of Melbourne, who represents both Cameron Baker and Kadence Martin, submitted the motion on February 10 on Martin’s behalf. Mountain Home attorney Emily Reed also serves as counsel for both defendants.
The court had scheduled a hearing on the motion for Monday (April 27), but officials postponed it until August 17.
Court records show that both Baker and Martin are in their early 20s. Three additional individuals face charges in connection with the case: 35-year-old Wesley Bray, 24-year-old Hannah Page Smolek-Bray, and 20-year-old Carson Michael Grass of Mountain Home.
Authorities have filed both state and federal drug charges against all five individuals.
Officials are holding Baker, Wesley Bray, and Hannah Smolek-Bray on federal charges at the Washington County Detention Center, where no bond has been set.
Records indicate that Grass and Martin have been released on bond.
MARTIN’S ARREST
Police went to Martin’s apartment on November 3 last year to arrest Baker on a state probation violation warrant. According to the probable cause affidavit, officers confirmed that Baker was staying at Martin’s residence, where she was identified as his girlfriend. Martin’s two-year-old son was also present.
When officers arrived, Martin answered the door, and they found Baker asleep in a bedroom.
SAFE FOUND
During their search of the bedroom, officers discovered a locked safe. A drug detection dog alerted to it, prompting officers to seize it. After obtaining a search warrant, officers reported finding 1.5 pounds of suspected cocaine, two firearms, and $11,600 in cash inside the safe.
In the motion to suppress the evidence and statements from November 3, Dellinger raises several concerns about the legality of the search.
He argues that Martin’s apartment was not Baker’s residence and that officers did not give her the opportunity to refuse the search or inform her of her Miranda rights, even though she was present.
According to the motion, Martin allegedly told officers the safe belonged to her. Dellinger contends that officers seized and removed it from her apartment without a warrant.
WAIVER DIDN’T APPLY TO MARTIN
Dellinger maintains that the search waiver Baker signed as part of his probation in an Izard County drug case applied only to his listed residence in Calico Rock, not to Martin’s apartment.
He states that investigators appear to argue that Baker’s waiver was “drafted broadly enough” to allow a “blanket right to search a third person’s residence without a warrant or the person’s consent.”
Individuals on probation typically sign waivers permitting warrantless searches of their person and property.
The motion also emphasizes that Baker’s name was not on the apartment lease and that he had reported his residence to probation and parole as being in Calico Rock.
Dellinger argues that Baker had “no power or legal authority” to consent to a search waiver that extended to Martin’s property.
He further notes that courts have defined a residence as “where you live, a fixed and permanent abode or dwelling place,” rather than a temporary location.
Authorities have charged Martin with trafficking a controlled substance, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Court records also show that Martin reportedly paid more than $15,000 in cash to secure Baker’s original $150,000 bond.