A Madras defense attorney is facing charges of violating a stalking order and possessing methamphetamine in Deschutes County and contempt of court charges in Jefferson County.

The charges come roughly six months after attorney William Ellison “Billy” Carl, 45, was arrested twice in a single day for allegedly violating a restraining order when he tried to contact the same woman at the center of the latest stalking order case.

Carl was arrested in Redmond on Nov. 30 after a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputy found him in a car with Katie Garrett near the intersection of SW 79th Street and SW Salmon Avenue, according to Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel.

Police reportedly searched Carl and found on him a vial containing 2.5 grams of methamphetamine, Hummel said. Garrett said in an interview with The Bulletin that Carl also had guns and night vision goggles in his car.

Police arrested Carl and booked him in the county jail, Hummel said. He posted bond the next day and was released.

“Just like police officers, prosecutors and judges who are charged with crimes, defense attorneys are entitled to no special treatment under the law, nor should they receive worse treatment,” Hummel said in an email statement to The Bulletin. “If Mr. Carl is convicted of these allegations I trust the Oregon State Bar Association will take action to protect the public.”

Garrett first became involved with Carl when he represented her in a divorce case. They began dating in 2018, the same year she began working as his legal assistant, according to news reports. She later obtained a stalking protective order that prohibited Carl from contacting her. She has reported that she fears for her life, according to records and news reports.

“I feel like this kind of behavior for a lawyer is very alarming,” she said.

Carl did not respond to phone calls requesting comment or a list of questions in an email prior to press time Thursday. As of Thursday, the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office had not received any notification of him retaining an attorney, Hummel said.

Carl is also facing three contempt of court charges in Jefferson County from two separate cases. Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche said Thursday that Carl is charged with allegedly violating a court order that he would have no contact with a person. The cases stem from incidents that occurred on July 6 and Nov. 18 of this year, Leriche said.

That case is being prosecuted by the Crook County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors say. That’s because of a conflict of interest in the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, Hummel and Leriche confirmed.

Crook County District Attorney Kari Hathorn was not available for comment prior to press time Thursday.

Leriche said that a victim’s advocate in his office was friends with Carl in college. He said it was decided that another office should handle the case because “we didn’t want the victim in our cases to feel that there was any possibility of loyalty to Billy Carl.”

He added: “There’s no impropriety, but we didn’t want the appearance of impropriety.”

Leriche said he was grateful to the Crook County District Attorney’s Office for prosecuting the charges against Carl because “Mr. Carl works in our county a lot and being involved with his prosecution is awkward when you’re prosecuting and dealing with him on a professional level.”

The Oregon State Bar’s online directory lists Carl as an active member. He has worked in civil, family and criminal law in Crook and Jefferson counties. He runs his own law office, The Law Office of William E. Carl, according to news reports.

Carl was a partner at the Madras firm Glenn, Reeder & Gassner, which was set on fire in May 2019. The firm’s former client, Troy Ernest Patrick, faces arson charges in that case. His trial is scheduled for April 2023, according to court records.

This isn’t the first time Carl has been arrested for approaching Garrett. In June, he was arrested twice in one day after he tried to contact Garrett, who wrote in a petition for a restraining order that Carl threatened her in the past. In one instance, she reported, he hit and tackled her during a struggle for a handgun he kept in his backpack.

Carl has a history in the criminal justice system.

He was convicted in 2009 of two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, according to court records. The Oregon State Bar disciplined him with an 18-month suspension for that conviction. While suspended, he was convicted in 2011 of one count of endangering the welfare of a minor, prompting the bar to extend his suspension to three years.

Then, in 2018, his relationship with Garrett brought yet another bar disciplinary complaint. For this, the bar suspended his license for 60 days.

The bar disciplinary committee also found Carl had mishandled client payments.

His plea hearing for the latest charges is scheduled for Dec. 22 at 10:30 a.m.