Gainesville man flees officers’ warrant service, found later with meth and pipe

Christopher D. Campbell, 46, of Gainesville, is being held in the Ozark County Jail in connection with a case in which he’s charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance at a county jail, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of resisting arrest for a felony. 

He was arraigned July 28 and remains in jail. He is scheduled to appear for a bond reduction hearing at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 29 before Associate Judge Raymond Gross. 

According to the probable cause statement filed by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Sherman, on March 8, he and fellow deputy Jeff Lane, along with Lutie School Resource Officer Jeremy Fowler, attempted to contact Campbell at his residence on County Road 513 in Gainesville due to an active felony warrant from Texas County.

“Upon arrival, I exited my patrol vehicle and immediately heard what sounded like somebody running into the woods. I shined my flashlight into the direction of the noise and was able to positively identify Chris Campbell who was fleeing the scene. I recognized Chris Campbell from my prior experiences and contacts with him as part of my patrol and jailer duties with Ozark County Sheriff’s Department,” Sherman wrote. 

After a short foot pursuit, Campbell was taken into custody. 

“While attempting to place the handcuffs on Chris, his hands were moving around in the dirt immediately below him. A search resulted in a metal silver-like canister that was buried under the debris from where Chris was initially apprehended. From my training and experience, when I opened the canister, I located two small baggies of a white crystal-like substance, and then the other baggie was a larger crystal that was white in nature that I identified as methamphetamine,” the report says. 

Campbell was transported to the Ozark County Jail.

“While Chris was changing out pursuant to Ozark County Sheriff Department policy, it was discovered that he had a smoking device identified as methamphetamine paraphernalia, as well as some white crystal-like substance that was hidden inside a rolled-up dollar bill that through training and experience was identified as methamphetamine.”

The report says that Campbell had also fled from officers on March 6; however, officers were unable to find him after a thorough search of the area. The report says that the suspect admitted that he ran from Sherman and Lane at that time.