Twenty-five acres of land on Slade Road were sold for $79,000 on Wednesday.
The property was previously owned by a Saline County man and was used to grow marijuana.
The previous owner, Kenneth Lee Slade, 56, was sentenced to 24 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady said the undeveloped, timber covering 25 acres at 16731 Slade Road, adjacent to the Arkansas Baptist Camp in Paron had an appraised value of $125,000.
The property went up for auction Wednesday at the Saline County Courthouse. Slade’s property was seized after two successful jury convictions of manufacturing marijuana and a successful asset forfeiture lawsuit.
Proceeds from the sale will go the Arkansas Crime Lab, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office and the Saline County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Vince Shoptaw said in accordance with state statute 5-64-505, seized property sold for under $20,000 goes to the prosecuting attorney’s office, but all money has to be used for law enforcement purposes. He said property seized worth more than $20,000 is automatically given to the Crime Lab.
“The remaining 80 percent is divided between the prosecuting attorney’s office and the arresting law enforcement agency that seized the property,” Shoptaw said. “
Shoptaw said after the deduction of the auction, advertisement or other costs associated with the sale of the property, by law the funds are required to be use strictly for law enforcement purposes. He said typically the Saline County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office uses the funds for training or helping law enforcement agencies through programs or even purchasing property for them.
“We often even give the law enforcement agencies a larger share of the funds,” Shoptaw said. “They do the more dangerous aspects of the job, and what we get goes in that direction anyway. The law enforcement agencies generally use those funds to purchase new equipment such as new bullet proof vests, radios and other things or to start up new programs. We’ve helped them start a lot of those programs or help them purchase equipment. We’ve even purchased drug dogs for them.”
“Bidding began at $40,000, but quickly passed the $50, $60 and $70,000 dollar marks before a couple from Scott, Ark., cast the winning bid,” Casady said. “Obviously, we are very pleased with final sale price. It is the first such auction in Saline County that I remember of, so we really weren’t sure what to expect.”
Slade, now a resident of the ADC’s North Central Unit, has been arrested three times since 2006 for drug offenses related to growing marijuana on the Slade Road property.
On Aug. 23, 2006, law enforcement officers raided Slade’s property after observing marijuana plants from a helicopter flying over the site. Officers found 350 plants worth $350,000 and 30 pounds of processed marijuana drying in a barn and packed in a freezer, but Slade fled the property before the deputies arrived.
On Aug. 10, 2007, wildlife officers from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission helped Saline County sheriff’s deputies find 100 marijuana plants with a street value of more than $100,000 and 43 plastic bags of suspected marijuana. Along with the marijuana, deputies found a loaded rifle, 33 rattlesnake skins, five live rattlesnakes and 56 frozen rattlesnakes in a freezer. Slade was taken into custody at his home and told officers he was getting prepared to set up booby traps as an explanation for the rattlesnakes.
“He told (officers) that we arrived earlier than he expected,” Sheriff’s Detective Daniel Dodson said. “He said that his intent was to take several (officers) out before we took him.”
During a June 2 trial, wildlife officer Glen Tucker said Slade admitted to having the snakes as pets.
“He told us he used to work on a pipeline and brought the snakes home to raise as pets,” Tucker said. “He said when they would die, he would freeze them.”
On June 26, 2008, sheriff’s deputies and SWAT team members raided Slade’s property again and found 126 marijuana plants and numerous plastic bags containing marijuana. Slade was found asleep in his vehicle.
Slade also was served with Perry County warrants charging him with failure to pay child support and for failing to appear in court for the 2006 and 2007 charges.
On Jan. 8, Saline County Circuit Judge Gary Arnold sentenced Slade to eight years in prison and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine and a year in the Saline County jail.
During the trial, Slade admitted to growing the numerous marijuana plants.
Slade was found guilty of manufacturing a controlled substance and was sentenced to prison and a $50,000 fine. Overall, Slade received a 24-year prison sentence. According to the ADC, Slade could be eligible for parole on Nov. 2, 2012.
Casady acknowledged Slade’s family members still own 30 acres nearby his formerly owned property.
“It is possible that Mr. Slade will return to the home there upon his release from prison,” Casady said. “I just hope doesn’t return to his old habits, or we could be repeating this process sooner than we would like.”
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