GILBERT BAKER TESTED POSITIVE FOR METH AT TIME OF DWI ARREST - WAS HE OVERSERVED AND USE METH AT THE 1836 CLUB? WILL THE ABC INVESTIGATE???

Former state Sen. Gilbert Baker, former chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, lobbyist and future federal prison inmate, tested positive for methamphetamine after Conway police stopped him last month for drunken driving, a toxicology report shows.

 

CLICK TO VIEW DOCUMENTS REGARDING BAKER"S TEST RESULTS 

When Baker was a state legislator, he fought the sale of alcoholic beverages in Conway restaurants. Faulkner County is dry, but many of the city's restaurants have private-club permits and now serve alcohol.

City Attorney Chuck Clawson's office received the report earlier Wednesday, a day after Baker pleaded guilty in a negotiated agreement in Faulkner County District Court to driving while intoxicated and refusing to take a breath test. Baker's blood alcohol level Aug. 26 tested 0.149 percent, compared with 0.08 percent, the legal limit under Arkansas law.

Clawson said no additional charges under Arkansas law could or would be filed against Baker as a result of the drug finding.

The law does not provide for charging Baker with driving while intoxicated because of alcohol and driving while intoxicated because of drugs when the charges would be "arising from the same course of conduct," Clawson said.

Clawson said he didn't have the information about meth being in Baker's system when Baker pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. But there wouldn't have been any changes even if he had, he said.

"It's not illegal to have anything in your system," the city attorney said.

Clawson said he knew of no drug paraphernalia or methamphetamine found in Baker's possession at the time of the arrest.

Perhaps Clawson should recheck that.  If you have controlled substances in your system, you can be charged with a crime.  Often women that give birth and have meth in there system are charged with a crime, and individuals on probation or parole are often sent back to jail or prison if they test positive for meth or other controlled substances and they do not have a prescription for the drugs found in their system.

Baker's license was automatically suspended for six months once he was charged with driving while intoxicated, Clawson noted.

Had Clawson known about the meth and charged Baker in regard to that instead, "the only real difference" would have been that Baker would not have qualified for a device that allows for a person to take what amounts to a breath test before he drives. A driver whose license is suspended for drunken driving can legally drive in Arkansas with the device, Clawson said. But a driver charged with driving while intoxicated in relation to drugs is not eligible for it, Clawson said.

 

BAKER WILL HAVE TO PUCKER UP AND BLOW EACH TIME HET GETS BEHIND THE WHEEL

 

Clawson said he understood that Baker already had obtained the device, which would allow him to drive even though his license is officially suspended. If a driver who is required to use the device is caught driving without it, that person's license is then suspended for six months and he gets a mandatory 10 days in jail, the city attorney said.

Baker was sentenced Tuesday to two days in jail, with credit for already serving one, and ordered to pay $1,225 in fines and court costs.

In a statement later Tuesday, Baker said he had made two "serious mistakes" on the night of Aug. 26 -- being antagonistic toward the police officers who stopped his car and driving home from Little Rock after having consumed alcohol. The statement did not mention his use of methamphetamine.

"First, I was very belligerent and disrespectful to several Conway police officers when they pulled me over at about 8:30 p.m. in front of the new Wal-Mart on Dave Ward Drive," Baker said in the statement.

"Second, I was wrong to have driven home from Little Rock after having had some alcohol earlier in the evening. I regret both bad decisions and accept the responsibility and consequences of those decisions," he said.

We want to know if Baker was at drinking at the 1836 Club and why they let him drive away after consuming great quantities of alcohol.  Will the ABC look into this high profile case of over-serving?  

 

And where did Baker get the meth?  Readers will recall that a nextdoor neighbor of the 1836 Club, Dilliard's, objected to the 1836 Club due to previous experience with "illegal activities" at the site when it was the Packet House.

The laboratory analysis, prepared by the state Crime Laboratory, does not give the level of meth in Baker's blood.

Baker tested negative for all other drugs screened. They included benzodiazepines, which include tranquilizers such as Valium; cannabinoids, which are found in marijuana; cocaine; methadone; opiates, which often are used to induce sleep or relieve pain; oxycodone; and propoxyphene, which is chemically related to methadone.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse's website describes meth as "a powerful, highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system."

Like its parent drug amphetamine, the more potent "methamphetamine causes increased activity and talkativeness, decreased appetite and a pleasurable sense of well-being or euphoria," the website says.

Legally, methamphetamine is available only through a nonrefillable prescription, according to the website.

"Medically it may be indicated for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and as a short-term component of weight-loss treatments, but these uses are limited and it is rarely prescribed," the website says. Further, "the prescribed doses are far lower than those typically abused."

The ABC needs to investigate this matter and determine which permit holder over-served Baker and allowed him to drive while intoxicated.

Surely tainted ABC Enforcement Director Boyce Hamlet and his elite squad can solve this in a month or two.

HUMP DAY HUMOR

GILBERT BAKER ENTERS GUILTY PLEA TO DWI AND REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO TEST - WILL THE ABC INVESTIGATE WHO OVER-SERVED HIM?

Former Republican senator, lobbyist, and future federal prison inmate Gilbert Baker earlier today  entered a negotiated plea to charges arising from his August 26, 2016  arrest for drunk driving.
 

According to court records he pleaded guilty to first offense DWI and to refusing to submit to an alcohol test. A charge of driving left of center was dropped.

The records indicate he was sentenced to 48 hours in jail on each charge the DWI charge and given credit for 24 hours served on the night of his arrest. Baker has 30 days to complete the sentence, which will require a full 24 hours in jail. 

 
Conway City Attorney Chuck Clawson said Baker was fined $225 on the refusal to take the test. 

Baker  had posted a bond of $1,395 to be released. That bond will be forfeited as a fine on the DWI charge, less $170, which was the bond for the driving left of center charge that wasn't prosecuted. 

Clawson said one result from a blood test was in and it showed a blood alcohol level of .14.

A blood alcohol level of .08 is necessary for a conviction of DWI.

For years, Baker fought efforts to allow Conway restaurants to sell alcoholic beverages. Faulkner County is dry, but many restaurants now are treated as private clubs and allowed to sell alcohol.

We wonder if the ABC will look into where Baker was drinking the margaritas in Little Rock and cite them for over-serving him and letting him drive away after consuming all that booze?

 

BAKER DOESN'T ALWAYS DRINK MARGARITAS, BUT WHEN HE DOES... HE GETS A DWI

ABC AGENTS NOT BUYING INTO BOYCE HAMLET'S DELUSIONAL THINKING

BOYCE HAMLET SUGGESTED THAT HIS AGENTS PURCHASE THIS SHIRT

Tainted ABC Enforcement Director Boyce Hamlet's constant boasting that he has made ABC Enforcement into the most elite law enforcement agency in the State of Arkansas is apparently wearing thin on the enforcement agents that are growing increasingly tried of his presence at their agency.

How do we know this?  Well, at least four of his fellow employees provide us a steady flow of information about his buffoonery.

One of the strangest is his instance back in April that his agents buy the shirt depicted in the photo above from him to wear when they went to the Arkansas Game and Fish shooting range in Mayflower for firearm qualifications.

Poor ole Boye can't even get the name of his agency right.  He thinks its "Alcohol" Beverage Control when its in fact Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Don't take our word for it, check out the ABC website for confirmation. 

And the fact that he uses an oriental symbol for honor on the shirt is hilarious considering that he has a documented history for being anything but honorable.

Here is a list:

1.  When Hamlet was an Arkansas State Trooper recruit, he was caught cheating on an exam and then lied multiple times to internal investigators.  He was booted out. More often than not, when anyone in law enforcement lies and is dishonest, they have difficulty in obtaining employment as they are commonly known as a Brady Cop.

2.  When Hamlet went to work for the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections ("DCC") as a probation officer, he lied and submitted false documents about his employment history, stating that he worked at UAPB as a police officer during and after the time that he was at the State Police, never listing that he was hired and fired by the Arkansas State Police ("ASP"). Records from UAPB show Hamlet only worked one month for them and only received one paycheck.

3.  When Hamlet moved to Mississippi (to follow his wife who was enrolled in law school there) he lied there as well to hide his hiring and firing from the ASP to two different Mississippi law enforcement agencies.

4.  When Hamlet moved back to Arkansas (his wife graduated law school and got a job in back in Arkansas) and he went to work for Cody Hiland, the Prosecuting Attorney for the 20th Judicial District, he lied and submitted false documents to hide his hiring and firing from the ASP.  Hamlet  lied about his and filed false documents concerning dates of employment at UAPB and at DCC to hide his law enforcement career killing behavior at the ASP.

5.  When this blog uncovered Hamlet's secret, he fought to have his ASP investigation file released.  The file was so damning that Judge Mackie Pierce statedin his findings, in a lawsuit to obtain Hamlet's file,  that Hamlet now heads up a powerful state law enforcement agency and his prior conduct and continued lack of honesty and credibility greatly impacted the ability of that agency to effectively carry out its statuary responsibilities. Judge Pierce also stated that if Hamlet had told the truth about his hiring and firing by the ASP to the other agencies where he had worked, he probably would have never been hired in the first place.

 6.  Hamlet lied and submitted a false document  when he went to work for DFA by stating he owed no taxes and had no liens filed against him.  In fact DFA had filed a lien against Hamlet for  his refused to pay his state income taxes when due.  He only paid them because he could not keep his job if he had unpaid taxes.  

7.  Hamlet failed to file a required Statement of Financial Disclosure within the 30 day period of his appointment as ABC Enforcement Director. The Arkansas Ethics Commission found he violated the law and issued a public letter of caution and fined him. Hamlet attempted to spin the matter as being a technical issue.  Hamlet did that because he has problems with telling the truth.

And those shirts, almost all of the agents didn't want one.

LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF MINORS IN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE COMPLIANCE OPERATIONS IS ILLEGAL BUT IS NOT FOR TOBACCO COMPLIANCE OPERATIONS

As we have pointed out in several posts*, Arkansas law specifically prohibits persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages. There are no exceptions noted in the law to allow minors or law enforcement agencies to  "break" the law for enforcement purposes. 

This fact was even pointed out in a Congressional Report.

It is amazing that the ABC has never sought to have the legislature modify  Arkansas Code Annotated  § 3-3-203 to permit minors to be used in law enforcement alcoholic beverage compliance operations like Arkansas Tobacco Control did.

It is only a matter of time before some ABC permit holder fights back and challenges the  ABC's illegal use of minors in compliance operations.

Maybe there is a lawsuit in the works as we speak.

Bud Roberts needs to take the initiative and get this problem fixed or toss out all citations that result from the illegal use of minors to entrap  outlets like he did in the Rack-Um case. 

However the ABC has a bigger problem and that is the continued employment of tainted ABC Enforcement Director Boyce Hamlet.

Hamlet does not meet any of the qualifications to hold the position that he was appointed to by Governor Hutchinson.  

The governor could have easily changed the qualifications for the position like he did so his pal Johnny Key could be the Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner (Johnny-boy was not qualified either) so that Hamlet could legitimately hold the position as Enforcement Director. But he didn't and that is a serious problem for the ABC and its enforcement activities.

And don't forget about that little problem Hamlet has with honesty and credibility. That cannot be fixed. 

*Our previous posts:

CONGRESSIONAL REPORT STATES ABC COOPERATING MINORS ARE VIOLATING ARKANSAS LAW IN ABC STING OPERATIONS  

ABC COOPERATING MINORS VIOLATE ARKANSAS LAW BY BUYING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES  

DFA REVEALS NAMES OF COOPERATING MINORS USED BY THE ABC  

ABC UNDERCOVER MINOR 

$500 WAITING FOR ABC EMPLOYEE THAT PLACES LAST WEEKS ARDEMGAZ ARTICLE ABOUT HAMLET'S ETHICS PROBLEM ON HIS OFFICE DOOR OR DESK AND PROVIDES A PHOTO

Last Thursday (September 15th) the Arkansas Democrat Gazette ran an article about tainted ABC Enforcement Director breaking the law and being issued a Public Letter of Caution and having to pay a fine.

Notice how ole Boyce says "I'm thankful I was made aware of this technical issue".  You are welcome, but it was not a technical issue, you broke the damn law you silly twit.

To celebrate our victory (the publisher of this blog filed the complaint against Hamlet) we are offering a $500 "reward" to the ABC employee that places the article on Hamlet's door or desk and sends us a photo of it.

Just save the image below and print it out and place it on Hamlet's door or desk, send us a photo and claim your reward. Easy peasy.

 

Posts about Hamlet violating the law and the ethics complaint:

OUR 9/15/16 POST

OUR 8/22/16 POST 

OUR 4/23/16 POST 

OUR 4/18/16 POST 

HUMP DAY HUMOR

FATHER AND SON TO SQUARE OFF IN CASE INVOLVING ABC BOARD SHENANIGANS

JEREMY HUTCHINSON, CHRIS PALMER (Judge that heard one case in Circuit Court and now ABC Board member) AND TIM HUTCHINSON

Former U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson and his son Jeremy will face each other in a case before the Arkansas Supreme Court in cases that involves the ABC.  The ABC will be represented by staff attorney Mary Robin Casteel.

Two NW Arkansas ABC permit holders, Sarah Gildehaus and Christopher Moore both filed suits against the ABC Board that involved permits issued to each other.  A true life example of an Arkansas Pissing Contest.

Both cases have progressed through the court system to the point that they are going to be heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
 
The cases involves the arbitrary and capricious way the ABC Board approves  and issues permits.   

 

This story begins back in 2012 when a study conducted by the University of Arkansas estimated that Benton County was missing out on $33 million annually because of its “dry” status.  The county was “dry” from 1944 until a major campaign garnered roughly 40,000 signatures to get on the general election ballot in November 2012.

The rest they say is history, and voters overwhelmingly supported the “wet” initiative.  More than 300 applicants submitted applications for retail liquor stores, but less than one-third of those completed paperwork and submitted the $2,000 fee. Not everyone who wanted a permit and won a lottery spot got the go-ahead to move forward. There were a total of 15 applicants whose proposed sites were denied over a three days selection process by the ABC in July 2013.

Rick Crisman, then the ABC Deputy Director, told reporters that the major reasons applications were denied is because the locations were too close to schools, churches and daycare facilities or the applicant already owns an interest in another liquor state in the state.

Readers of this post will recall that Crisman resigned rather than get fired due to his illegal use of material obtained from his position in a smart phone application sold on Google Play and iTunes.  This blog exposed Crisman's illegal activity.

(Read our previous posts about Crisman : post 1; post 2; post 3; post 4)

Gildehaus and Moore both received approval from the ABC. 

However, Moore for some reason never opened a store at the 2090 W. Pleasant Grove Road location.

A former employee and friend of Moore, Michelle Marie Jameson, also received a permit and borrowed $4,0000.00 from him to pay rent for her location at (which was owned by Moore's wife and her father - more on that in a minute).  Before Jameson could open  her store, she wanted to transfer her permit to Moore.  However the ABC told her that she would have to have the store open for at least one day and sell at least one bottle of liquor. A huge problem for Jameson was that she never obtained a sales tax permit from the state.  

This is where the ABC made its first two mistakes. (1) Apparently they do not check to make sure that their permit holders have the sales tax permit issued by their parent agency, the Department of Finance and Administration to operate a business in Arkansas. (2) The ABC Enforcement agent did not take the time to go to the store to verify that it was actually ready and did in fact open for the one day of business, he had Jameson email her some pictures to make it appear that he went to the site.  Good work former agent Bill Kruse!

The Arkansas Legislature made it very clear in a bill approved into law in March of 2013 that "a person, firm or cooperation shall not have an ownership interest in more than one (1) retail liquor permit" and "no retail liquor permit shall be issued, either as a new permit or as a replacement of an existing permit, to any person, firm or corporation if the person, firm or corporation has an ownership interest in another retail liquor permit."

Moore did not open a liquor store using his permit, but that does not matter, he still had a permit when he took over Jameson's permit.  Moore even admitted in a hearing that he held two permits at the same time.

To further complicate this situation, Moore's wife, Katherine, had filed for a permit (which was denied) under the name Tipsy's Wine and Fine Spirits.

 

CHRIS & KATIE MOORE

 
Katherine subsequently filed documents with the Arkansas Secretary of State in November 2013 under the name of the store in which the ABC permit had been issued to Jameson, Spirituex Wines and Liquors.  And Katherine owned the site where the store was located.  

A blatant Straw Man operation! 

Jameson in fact admitted to the Straw Man operation in a hearing before the ABC Board.

 
Any reasonable person can see that the Moore's wanted to open as many liquor stores as they could in NW Arkansas, in spite of Arkansas law.  And the ABC Board was more than happy to accommodate them.

The Moore's opened up Spiritueuex Wines and Liquors and then Foster's Pint & Plate right next door in February 2015.

Spiritueux Wines and Liquors

FOSTER'S PINT & PLATE

Foster's Pint & Plate

We are not sure if Michelle Jameson is working for the Moore's but her hubby Frank is.

FRANK & MICHELLE JAMESON

Gildenhaus filed a complaint/appeal with the ABC and when they denied her appeal and approved Moore's assumption of Jameson's permit in September 2014 she filed an appeal of that decision in Benton County Circuit Court.  In March 2015, The Benton Circuit Court found she lacked standing and she then appealed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals.  They upheld the lower court and she then proceeded to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

In June 2016, her petition for review by the Arkansas Supreme Court was granted. Justice Paul Danielson recused and Governor Asa Hutchinson appointed and in July 2016, Gov. Hutchinson appointed Steven Brooks as a Special Associate Justice for the case.  Gildenhaus is represented by Jeremy Hutchinson. We posted a lot of information about Jeremy in a previous post. You can read that post here.

Now on to Sarah Gildehaus and her ABC permit.  Sarah's and her husband Roger, were partners in the company that owned the Macadoodles in Springdale and six others locations in Missouri.
 
 CLICK TO VIEW THE MACADOODLES WEBSITE

 CLICK TO READ ARTICLE ABOUT MACADOODLE FRANCHISE

 

ROGER GILDEHOUSE

Roger got sideways with the ABC when he wanted to establish a liquor franchise using the Wal-Mart model (Roger worked for Wal-Mart for 26 years) .  Roger thinks the ABC administration appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson (brother to Tim and uncle to Jeremy) will "work in his favor."

It is apparent that the Gildehaus' are indeed thumbing their noises at the ABC as both Macadoodles and Guess Who are laid out exactly the same and use the same internal documents.  The shape of the exterior sign and color are the only differences. 

We are getting ahead of ourselves....

Sarah wanted to open a liquor store that would be called Guess Who? - and she will lease the building from her hubby.  Nice.

But Sarah had some problems with the ABC and her application.  The building that she wanted to put her store in was owned by Gild Corporation, the company she and Roger owned.  So she had to divest herself of any interest in that company and in another company, Gild Holdings.  Right.

Apparently only the ABC Board has the ability to discern how a married couple, living together can keep finances separate and not derive any financial benefit whatsoever from each other. Totally absurd.

With assurances from Sarah that she gains no financial benefits from any liquor business that Roger has she received approval for a permit.
 
In steps Christopher Moore who files a petition for judicial review in August of 2013 in Pulaski County Circuit Court (because the ABC is a state agency and in Pulaski County).  The case is assigned to Judge Chris Palmer.  Yep the same Chris Palmer that is now an ABC Board member and running buddy of Jeremy Hutchinison.  

In April 2014, Judge Palmer finds for Moore and sends the matter back to the ABC Board. 

At the ABC Board meeting in August 2014,  Sarah introduces documents that were not introduced at her previous board hearing and the ABC Board accepts them over the objections of Moore's attorney, Tim Hutchinson.  Yes, that's Jeremy's daddy.  

Sarah also claims that Macadoodles, her husbands store in Springdale, did not want her to open and considers her competition.  *BULLSHIT ALERT*

Sarah also admits that her husband intended to open another Macadoodles at the site where her store is located and that he had submitted plans to the city of Bentonville. She stated that their was a sign on the building that had "Macadoodles Coming Soon" on it that was taken down about 10 days before she obtained her permit to open Guess Who? at the site.

IN MARCH 2013, TV STATION KFSM CAPTURED THE "MACADOODLES COMING SOON " SIGN AT THE LOCATION WHERE GUESS WHO? ULTIMATELY OPENED

Sarah further stated that she used the Macadoodles employee handbook but changed the logo and replaced "Macadoodles" with "Guess Who?" in the handbook.  She also admits she did not pay any rent to her husband from when her lease began in April 2013 until May 2014.  Sarah stated that she opened the store in March 2014 and finally began paying rent in May 2014.  Sweet deal if you can get it.  

So as expected the ABC Board does not change their earlier decision (not wanting to admit they made a mistake), so Moore files another petition for review in Pulaski County.

The case is assigned to Judge Mackie Pierce (the same judge that ordered the Arkansas State Police in September 2015 to release tainted ABC Enforcement Director Boyce Hamlet's internal investigation file to the publisher of this blog - see our post here) and on December 20, 2015, he dismissed Moore's petition finding that there was adequate evidence in the record to support theABC Board's decision to grant the permit to Sarah Gildehaus.

So in January 2016,  Moore then filed an appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court. 

The Arkansas Supreme Court accepted the case in March 2016. And briefs were filed by July 2016.

Then  on August 22, 2016 Justice Paul Danielson recused, no reason was given.

JUSTICE PAUL E. DANIELSON

   

In May 2016, Danielson announced that he would not seek re-election after his term ended in December 2016.  This is so he would avoid forfeiting his retirement benefits. Arkansas Code 24-8-215 requires justices to retire by age 70 or else they lose their retirement benefits.

So the Supreme Court sent a letter to Governor Hutchinson requesting that a Special Associate Justice be appointed to replace Danielson.

 

As Steven Brooks had been appointed in the other case, Governor Hutchinson gave the green light to Brooks for this case on September 15th.

BROOKS APPOINTED AS A SPECIAL ASSOCIATE JUSTICE TO HEAR CASES

It will be interesting to see how these two cases play out.  The ABC Board has played fast and loose with the law when issuing permits for husbands and wives and parents and children when it is all too clear there is a financial connection between these parties and they want to have multiple liquor stores as a family business.







CLICK TO VIEW GILDEHAUS' CASE FILINGS

CLICK TO VIEW MOORE'S CASE FILINGS

************

In previous posts we pointed out some of the problems that Jeremy Hutchinson had that should have precluded his involvement with the 1836 Club.  

Readers will recall that we pointed out that Jeremy had a little problem with not paying his state income taxes when due and had a lien filed against him by the Department of Finance & Administration.  

Jeremy quit paying for an automobile and was sued by the car dealership. 

Jeremy also failed to pay bar dues and had his license to practice law suspended. His law license suspension was also mentioned in a legal malpractice lawsuit filed against him by a former client.  

That lawsuit was recently settled for an undisclosed amount.  Poor Jeremy was beaten by a Pro Se plaintiff!   

Poor Jeremy also holds the dubious honor of being the only person in Arkansas to ever been the victim of domestic abuse via a stuffed alligator head. 

He also was cited and fined by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for funneling campaign funds to his mistress and later girlfriend.   

Finally,  Jeremy admitted to being unfaithful to his wife with that same mistress/girlfriend that wacked him on the head with the stuffed alligator.

Perhaps he learned how to treat women from his father, a former reverend and former U.S. Senator, Timothy Hutchinson.

Tim was reported to have been unfaithful to former wife Donna Hutchinson by fooling around with a staff member, Randi Fredholm.  The affair was publicized by a former campaign and congressional aide of Hutchinson's, Sam Sellers.  

Sellers made the allegation in a short-lived magazine he published titled Arkansas Review.  Tim married Randi less than a year after his divorce from Donna. Tim sure knows how to pick them.

TIM & RANDI HUTCHINSON