(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man who failed to abide by the rules of the Payne County Drug Court program was given a prison term Friday for violating the terms of his probation in three felony property crime cases.
Chad Frank Claxton, 28, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison Friday by District Judge Phillip Corley, who revoked his probation and urged him to seek substance abuse treatment while he is incarcerated.
Claxton, who remained in the Payne County Jail today awaiting transportation to the state Department of Corrections, was arrested on May 19 on the property of a Cushing woman subsequently charged with harboring him and possessing methamphetamine.
Claxton “has failed to abide by the rules of the Payne County Drug Court program by leaving treatment without permission, failing to report after leaving said treatment facility, and being AWOL from the Payne County Drug Court program,” prosecutor Tyson Branyan wrote in a motion seeking his sentencing that was imposed Friday.
Three years ago, Chad Claxton and his brother, Christopher Charles Claxton, 32, of Cushing, were placed on five years’ probation with an order to pay $1,500 restitution for concealing sheet metal fence panels stolen from a Cushing man on Nov. 15, 2010, court records show.
Chad Claxton was also ordered to serve 120 days in jail, to perform 75 hours of community service within nine months, to have a substance abuse evaluation, to follow its treatment plan, to pay $250 to the victims’ compensation fund and to have a life skills course.
Less than five months later, after Chad Claxton failed to make payments, a motion to revoke his probation was filed. Thirteen months ago, a bench warrant was issued for his failure to appear in court in that stolen property case.
Four months after that, the judge ordered him to enroll in and successfully complete the Payne County Drug Court program, but when he failed to appear in court last month, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
At the time, Chad Claxton was also on five years’ probation with an order to pay $270 restitution for passing two forged checks in June 2010 on a relative’s bank account, court records show.
Chad Claxton was also on five years’ probation for passing two forged checks in November 2009 on the same relative’s bank account, court records show.
Chad Claxton had also received five years’ probation in 2007 for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Lincoln County in 2006, court records show.
Last month, Chad Claxton was arrested on the property of Angela Marie Hoopingarner, 43, of Cushing, who was already on five years’ probation for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine to an undercover state narcotics agent in 2012.
Hoopingarner was arrested at the same time as Chad Claxton and jailed until she posted $12,500 total bail on June 2, court records show. She has been ordered to appear in court on June 23 for a preliminary hearing on a charge of harboring him as a fugitive from justice and possessing methamphtamine.
Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Nack wrote in an affidavit that at 6:30 a.m. on May 19 he was searching around the Cushing area to serve an outstanding warrant on Chad Claxton.
“During this time, I received anonymous information regarding Chad and a possible phone number. Calling it, a female answered. I asked for Chad. The female sounded as if I woke her up — who you could hear say, ‘Chad, someone is on the phone.’
“I could hear a male’s voice, also sounding like he just woke up. I disconnected,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“I called back a short time later again asking for Chad. After a discussion of why I was looking for Chad, she advised she had not seen him,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
When the deputy went to Hoopingarner’s rural Cushing residence on N. Kings Highway, “I was met outside by Angela. I explained to her that Chad had a warrant and that I felt that she was harboring him. She advised that she had not seen Chad and he had not been there.
“Chad was not located inside. She then granted me permission to look in the outbuilding. I then asked about the wooded property behind the outbuilding and she said I could walk back there. As I turned around to do so, I heard her say ‘shit’ under her breath.
“I located Chad seated in the brush within the tree line. Chad Claxton was placed under arrest for his warrant,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“After securing Chad, I again asked Angela about him staying there. She attempted to act surprised that he was there. I requested consent to search her house which she again granted,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
In a bathroom, the deputy found a rolled up bandana that contained a methamphetamine-type smoking pipe and a red straw, both with residue, the deputy alleged in his affidavit. “Angela again acted surprised,” the affidavit said.
“In her bedroom, I observed that the caps to her bed posts came off. Inside the north upper bed post was one black and white zebra print zip up bag. When I located this, Angela did not act surprised, but started talking about random medications in other places,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“I felt as if she was attempting to distract me. Opening this bag, I located three glass methamphetamine-type smoking pipes, each with residue and two straws. Angela uttered that the pouch with the pipes had been there a long time. I placed Angela under arrest,” the deputy wrote in his affiavit.
“Two additional adult females were there that stayed the night, along with a 13-year-old female. It was also noted that a clothes hamper with Chad’s clothes was in the laundry room, as well as blankets that he claimed, and a purse belonging to a girlfriend who lived elsewhere.
“Chad advised that he had stayed here since he left detox on the previous Friday,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
The red straw from the black and white pouch field-tested positive for methamphetamine, the affidavit alleged.
Sixteen months ago, Hoopingarner had been placed on five years’ probation for conspiring to distribute two baggies of methamphetamine, with two other suspects, to an undercover agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control on March 28, 2012.
Hoopingarner was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, to follow treatment recommendations in a background report, and to pay $1,150 in fines and assessments.
***
