A 41-year-old Arkoma man, who saw his trial on drug charges in Sebastian County Circuit Court delayed by a week when he showed up under the influence of drugs a week ago, was sentenced to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections with an additional 20 years suspended in court proceedings Wednesday morning.. According to information supplied by the Sebastian County Circuit Court, James Michael Ames of Arkoma entered a guilty plea to charges of possession of methamphetamine with a purpose to deliver, possession of schedule I/II controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia in an open court session Wednesday morning. All of the sentences were set to run concurrent with existing prison terms and he was also given jail time credit for his arrest since last Wednesday. Ames was recently sentenced to 24-months in prison out of Crawford County for similar drug-related charges. On April 19th, Ames showed up to face the same charges but was held in contempt of court after he was manifested to be under the influence of drugs. He was remanded to the custody of the Sheriff's Office and had been in jail since that time awaiting today's trial. He will be recalled to court at a later date on the contempt charge. The three offenses for which he worked a plea deal on Wednesday occurred over three different arrest including arrest in May and September of 2022 and December of 2021.
Ames will remain in the custody of the SCADC until he is transferred for procesing to the ADC/
