Hatchet theft report leads to multiple felony charges for Bakersfield woman

A reported $15 hatchet theft from the Bakersfield Dollar General earlier this summer led Ozark County deputies to uncover suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a firearm, ultimately resulting in multiple felony charges against 45-year-old Jaela Jacksonwood, of Bakersfield.

According to the probable cause statement prepared by Ozark County Deputy Hunter Ryan, he and Deputy Josh Sherman were dispatched to the Bakersfield Dollar General on Aug. 2 after receiving a call about a theft. When officers arrived, a store employee told them that a regular customer had come in to shop that day and chatted with the cashier about an upcoming family camping trip as she checked out, placing her paid items into a large red shopping bag she had brought with her. She paid before heading into the store’s restroom.

After the customer left, the employee said she went into the restroom and found packaging for a hatchet that they sell at the store lying on the back of the toilet, along with the woman’s receipt, which did not list the purchase. The hatchet retailed for $15 before tax. The employee told officers the woman drove a dark-colored Honda Accord with an Arkansas license plate.

The following evening, Deputy Ryan was patrolling the Bakersfield area when he spotted a vehicle matching that description. The license plate number confirmed it was the same one provided by the Dollar General employee. Ryan then submitted an application for a search warrant for the suspect’s residence, seeking permission to search for the stolen hatchet. A judge granted the warrant.

On Aug. 15, the Ozark County Special Enforcement Team executed the search warrant at the home. The suspect, identified as Jaella Jacksonwood, was present during the search. Deputies reportedly located a pipe containing a white crystal-like substance, along with a baggie of a similar material. Based on those findings, Ryan submitted a second search warrant request to look for illegal narcotics at the residence.

Deputies reportedly found a hatchet matching the description of the one stolen from Dollar General in a storage area on the porch, as well as the red shopping bag the employee described. The hatchet, bag and suspected methamphetamine were seized as evidence.

Later that night, after the judge signed the secondary drug search warrant, deputies executed it and reportedly discovered 11 pipes, nine broken and two intact, all of which field-tested positive for methamphetamine, the report says. Additional seized items included a Ruger .22 handgun with a holster, an orange bottle with attached pipes, several baggies containing suspected meth, small zip-top bags, a magnetic box, a Motorola phone, two rubber tubes, a silver platter and a bag containing a mushroom-like substance.

All items were collected and transported to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office for evidence processing.

Jacksonwood now faces three felony charges: unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a weapon (possession of a controlled substance while also in possession of a firearm). She also faces a misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia with a prior drug offense.

She was transported to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office the night of the search, fingerprinted and released. A warrant was later issued on Oct. 6, and she was arrested Oct. 8 then arraigned and released on supervised bond by Associate Judge Raymond Gross the next day. She was scheduled to appear for a criminal setting Tuesday. Results of the hearing were not available at presstime.