Pontiac house burns down 7 days after deputies execute drug bust

Many local residents are wondering if the early-morning fire that occurred last Saturday at a home on County Road 609 in Pontiac is connected to the search warrant executed on the same house seven days prior that led to the discovery of methamphetamine, paraphernalia and used hypodermic needles in the home with an infant baby - a discovery that led to various drug and child endangerment charges being filed against six defendants. 

Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin said the sheriff’s department is working closely with the fire marshal’s office to figure out if the search warrant and fire are connected or just coincidence. 

“For things like this, if we have any questions, we reach out to the fire marshal’s office, as they have a lot more resources at the state level to decipher if [the fire was set] intentionally or if it’s just accidental,” the sheriff said. “Right now we’re working alongside them to determine if this was arson or not. At this point, it’s looking more coincidental that this fire happened a week after [the search warrant].”

The fire marshal’s office says the home was burned too badly to give many clues as to what started the fire. 

After investigating, the state fire marshal determined the structure sustained too heavy of fire damage and was mostly collapsed and consumed when they arrived; therefore, the cause of the fire was undetermined, according to a representative for the Division of Fire Safety.

The search warrant

The week before the fire, a search warrant that was obtained by the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department and signed by a judge, was executed at the home on July 12.

The home in question was where Pontiac resident Paul Henderson and his girlfriend Pam Marler lived with Pam’s son Josh Marler, Paul’s nephew Brandon Mills and another woman, Lisa Cobbs-Espinoza. 

The search warrant application shows it was granted in order for officers to obtain evidence relating to the possession and distribution of methamphetamine, as well as other illegal drugs, and evidence in support of the group harboring a fugitive - namely, Brandon Mills, who had an active warrant filed against him. 

The search warrant document shows that officers believed there was evidence of the crimes including “Controlled substances, including but not limited to methamphetamine, paraphernalia related to the use, preparation, manufacture and distribution of controlled substances...” The document also says that Mills has an active felony warrant that was issued by the court July 7 and July 9, meaning he was a fugitive at the time of the search warrant execution. 

The search was for the home, described as a white duplex with brown roof and one outbuilding, along with multiple vehicles on the property. 

The probable cause statements in the cases say that Ozark County Sheriff Department’s Special Enforcement Team (SET) executed the search warrant that night. When officers arrived at the home, Paul Henderson answered the door, and he was immediately detained. Also inside the home was Pam Marler, Joshua Marler, Brandon Mills, Lonnie Strauser, Lisa Cobb-Espinoza and her infant baby. 

The document says that Brandon, Pam and Lonnie were inside Pam and Paul’s bedroom, while Josh was in his own bedroom and Lisa and her baby were lying on a bed in the living room. 

The items listed in the document that officers say they seized include the following:

From Paul and Pam’s bedroom:

• baggie with 1.2 grams of crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine found in bedside table;

• baggie with white residue

• one storage container with white residue

• three glass pipes with white residue

• scale found in bedside table drawer

• four broken pipes with white residue

• one clear pen with white substance

• one straw

• three used needles that field-tested positive for methamphetamine found in desk drawer

• one bond that field-tested positive for methamphetamine

• one package of small zip-top baggies

• one Coolpad flip phone (believed to be Paul’s)

• One pink-cased Smartphone (believed to be Pam’s)

• One blue Model Three View smartphone (believed to be Brandon’s)

From Josh’s room:

• one glass pipe with white residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine

• one broken pipe that field-tested positive for methamphetamine

• one clear bag that field-tested positive for methamphetamine

• one blue Quad Pixel smartphone (believed to be Josh’s)

From the living room, where Lisa and the baby were lying:

• one gallon-sized zip-top bag with 93 grams of marijuana found in the center console of the couch

• one white Motorola phone (believed to be Lisa’s)

The report says that after the group was arrested and transported to the county jail, Deputies Josh Sherman and Hunter Ryan spoke with Josh under Miranda warning. The document says that Josh said he was worried about his mom and he just wanted to go home. “When asked about his drug use, he admitted to recently resuming methamphetamine use within the past week, typically using a bubble (glass smoking device) and not needles or consuming it raw,” the report says. “When questioned about the source of his methamphetamine, he declined to identify the supplier but confirmed it was not from anyone residing in the house. He indicated the supplier was someone who was at the house but did not live there.” Lonnie Strauser is the only defendant who did not have the same address on County Road 609 in Pontiac, according to court records. Instead, Strauser’s address is listed as Price Place, Arkansas. 

The defendants are charged as follows:

Paul Henderson: is charged with the felonies of delivering a controlled substance, keeping or maintaining a public nuisance and endangering the welfare of a child, along with the misdemeanor of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested and remains in the Ozark County Jail, held on a $10,000 cash-only bond. He is scheduled for a criminal setting at 9 a.m. July 29.

Pam Marler: is charged with two felonies, delivering a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child, and a misdemeanor, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. She also remains in jail, held on a $10,000 cash only bond. She is scheduled for a criminal setting at 9 a.m. July 29. 

Lonnie Strauser: is charged with the felony of delivering a controlled substance. He was arrested and held on a $5,000 cash-only bond, which he posted on July 21 and was released from custody. He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Aug. 12 for a criminal setting. 

Brandon Mills: is charged with the three felonies of possession of a controlled substance, endangering the welfare of a child and keeping or maintaining a public nuisance. He was arrested that night and remains in jail on his prior warrants. He is scheduled to appear for a criminal setting at 9 a.m. Aug. 12. 

Joshua Marler: is charged with two felonies, possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child, and one misdemeanor, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He was originally arrested and held on a $3,500 cash only bond, but he was granted pre-trial release on July 21. 

Lisa Cobbs-Espinoza: is charged with two felonies, possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child. She was not arrested, but was summonsed to come to court for an initial appearance. She did appear, and she remains out of custody. She is scheduled to appear for a criminal setting at 9 a.m. Aug. 26. 

Another search warrant

Another search warrant was signed by a judge July 18, allowing officers to search the cell phones that were taken as evidence after the July 12 search was conducted. The phones are believed to belong to Paul Henderson, Pam Marler, Joshua Marler and Brandon Mills. According to court documents, Prosecuting Attorney Lee Pipkins believes the phones contain evidence of drug trafficking, delivery of drugs, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia and endangering the welfare of a child. 

The fire 

According to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department dispatch log, a neighbor (identified as Lisa Stewart in a recent KY3 article) called 911, reporting a fire at the cabin at 12:18 a.m. Saturday. 

“I heard a couple of pops, like gunfire,” Stewart told KY3. “So I came out, came around, and all I could see is smoke and flames coming out of the roof.”

Stewart called 911, and a dispatcher toned out Pontiac-Price Place Volunteer Fire Department and several other departments in mutual aid. 

When firefighters arrived on scene, the home was fully engulfed. Aiding PPPVFD was Timber Knob, Gainesville, Theodosia, Oakland-Promise Land and Midway VFDs. 

Despite the dedicated effort, which continued until daylight that day, the home was destroyed, and an adjoining portion of the structure was badly damaged. Josh Marler told KY3 that two of the family’s pets perished in the fire. 

Sheriff Cass Martin says Paul Henderson, Pam Marler and Brandon Mills remain in jail. He said the OCSD has reached out to the Red Cross, who will help provide aid to them when they are released. 

“Even though they’re here on charges, it’s awful to lose everything,” Martin told KY3. “To lose your house, your vehicles, your way of life. So, our hearts go out to them.”