GALLIPOLIS — A Crown City man accused of aiding James E. Gardner as he eluded law enforcement following the death of his father in Meigs County last month was recently arraigned in the Common Pleas Court of Gallia County in an unrelated case.

Lyndon M. Montgomery, Sr., 51, was arrested November 30 after it was discovered that he had been providing transportation and shelter to Gardner who had been fleeing police officers following his father’s suspicious death on November 11.

Gardner, 41, of Middleport, was arrested on December 7 by Gallia County Sheriff’s Deputies in the southern portion of Gallia County following a lengthy, multi-agency man hunt. He had been wanted in Meigs County as a “person of interest” in the murder of James W. Gardner, 67.

The senior Gardner was found dead in his Paulins Hill Road home — a home he shared with his son — in Rutland Township near the Gallia-Meigs County line. The unofficial cause of death in this case has been deemed as blunt force trauma.

Following his arrest, the younger Gardner appeared in the Meigs County Common Pleas Court on Thursday and was charged with murder in connection with the death of his father.

Montgomery, who, just prior to his arrest late last month, was interviewed by a Huntington-area television station and was quoted as having had a recent “run-in” with Gardner.

Following a subsequent investigation by law enforcement, the defendant was arrested and charged in the Gallipolis Municipal Court on November 30 with obstructing justice.

A preliminary hearing was held on December 6 in relation to the obstructing justice charge, and, subsequently, the case against Montgomery was bound over to the Common Pleas Court of Gallia County where it is expected to be heard by a grand jury.

According to the Gallia County Clerk of Courts online docket, the criminal transcript from municipal court has been filed in Montgomery’s first case relating to the charge of obstructing justice.

No indictment has been filed in that case, according to the docket.

On Friday, Montgomery was present in the common pleas court and was charged with the illegal conveyance of drugs onto the grounds of a detention facility, a third degree felony.

The indictment, filed on December 13, alleges that Montgomery attempted to smuggle marijuana into the Gallia County Jail following his arrest.

According to the police report, on the afternoon of November 30 Montgomery was brought into the jail by an agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

After being asked if he had anything on his person that he should not have, the defendant reportedly responded that he did not. However, while a corrections officer took inventory of Montgomery’s property, the defendant allegedly threw an empty cigarette pack containing approximately six grams of marijuana into a nearby trash can.

He was subsequently charged with the illegal conveyance of drugs onto the grounds of detention facility.

During Friday’s hearing, Montgomery’s bond was set at $5,000 own recognizance with an additional $1,500, 10 percent bond.

The arraignment entry filed and signed by Magistrate Linda Warner further sets a jury trial for April 24, 2013. The deadline for filing a plea agreement is March 25, 2013.