A nationwide arrest warrant is in effect for a California man convicted in 2018 of engaging in the attempted transportation of marijuana through Cochise County who then violated probation earlier this year by absconding.
Jon Pierre Bouldin Merritt was sentenced to serve five years of supervised probation, a ruling made by Judge John Kelliher Jr. of the Cochise County Superior over the objection of the prosecutor as well as the adult probation department which both advocated for prison time.
At some point, Bouldin was granted permission to have his probation supervised outside of Arizona. It is unclear when the Cochise County probation department became reinvolved in the case, but Bouldin, now 37, is alleged to have skipped a meeting with his probation officer early this year.
Then on April 5, the probation department informed Kelliher that Bouldin changed his residence without prior approval and that Bouldin’s “whereabouts are unknown.” A petition to revoke probation resulted in the issuance of a nationwide, extraditable bench warrant in May which authorizes Bouldin’s arrest without bail.
The only publicly available photograph of Bouldin is his Jan. 29, 2017 jail mugshot, according to the probation department and the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information of Bouldin’s whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 520-432-9502.
Court records show Bouldin, who lived in Los Angeles, was arrested after a DPS trooper stopped a Dodge Journey for speeding along Interstate 10 near the Arizona / New Mexico border. The driver, Ronald V. Coleman, was also taken into custody.
However, the case involved more than just a routine traffic stop that uncovered the planned transport of marijuana from North Carolina to California. Nine guns were discovered in the same vehicle, along with nearly $10,000 cash.
Five of the guns were determined to be stolen, according to court documents.
DPS Investigator Seth Boothe and Special Agent Cory of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) interviewed Coleman and Merritt, both of whom initially denied involvement with the guns. But in a subsequent statement, Coleman said he was directed by a third party identified as “KSB” to drive from California to North Carolina in order to bring Merritt to California.
The official police report also notes Coleman told investigators he was notified by KSB during the trip that Merritt needed to stop for a meeting in San Antonio. “Coleman believed it was for the guns,” the report notes.
A forensic search of Coleman’s three cell phones, two iPads, and a digital camera was authorized after he was heard on a jail call instructing someone to delete his iCloud account and erase his phones. The search also included Bouldin’s phone, although none of the results were ever disclosed in court.
Bouldin was eventually released after posting bond to secure his pretrial release after being indicted by a grand jury for 19 felonies. A plea agreement negotiated in March 2018 with the Cochise County Attorney’s Office called for Bouldin to plead guilty to only an attempted transportation charge, with the other 18 felonies dismissed.
Sentencing in the case, however, was delayed several months when questions arose about the authenticity of bank records Bouldin presented to the probation department in advance of the hearing. At one point, the judge ordered Bouldin to provide “certified copies” of his bank records.
In November 2018, Bouldin failed to appear in court for sentencing. He was finally sentenced the next month with his probation set to run through late 2023. The county attorney’s office and the probation department strongly advocated for prison, which Kelliher was not required to impose.
Like Bouldin, Coleman was indicted in January 2017. However, he was not arraigned in the case until early 2019. Coleman pleaded guilty that summer one count each of possession of marijuana for sale and weapons misconduct by a prohibited possessor. Records of his sentences are not readily available.