GENTRY -- A quick response by police and a tip from a juvenile at McDonalds led to the arrest of a Gentry man for breaking into Spirit Trucking and allegedly attempting to steal some classic cars from inside the business.
Tyler M. Shaver, 18, of Gentry, was arrested and booked into the Benton County Jail on Nov. 8, according to the jail's website. He was arrested in connection with two felony counts of commercial burglary, three counts of felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and criminal trespass.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Gentry Police Chief Keith Smith was on patrol at approximately 10 p.m. on Nov. 7 when he noticed an open overhead door and a vehicle which belonged to the business owner of Spirit Trucking partially out the door. When Smith stopped his vehicle in front of the door, he saw a man with dark clothes running inside the building and called for assistance. A search of the building, inside and out, revealed a broken out back window, according to the affidavit.
Police were notified that a juvenile at McDonalds, across Arkansas Highway 12 from Spirit Trucking, had received text messages on his phone from a person involved in the break in.
The text messages described the burglary in detail:
(Shaver) "So I'm [expletive] up bro and me and a friend are tryin' to steal some cars and we almost got caught I [expletive] ran across town and then back to a friends house dude there are a ton of cops around tonight."
(Juvenile): "Where you try and steal cars from?"
(Shaver): "There's a bunch of old classic impalas and chevy pickups in the trucking garages across from mcdonalds that's where we was."
(Juvenile): "Oh [expletive]. Why'd you try stealing them?"
(Shaver): "Because we drunk as [expletive] and there's some weed in springdale so we all decided to try and get em to go to springdale so we could get some smoke but that didn't work we had to jump out the back window to get away."
The officer took a copy of the text messages and returned to Spirit Trucking, where Shaver was in custody, according to the affidavit.
Initially, Shaver denied any knowledge of the burglary but, when police showed him the text and said they had video of him at Spirit Trucking, he admitted he was at Spirit Trucking but said he had nothing to do with thefts from the business, according to the affidavit.
Shaver said he was with three 17-year-old males and identified them for police, according to the affidavit.
Police interviewed two of the juveniles and learned that they had broken into the business earlier in the evening of Nov. 7 and took some beer and then later went back and entered Spirit Trucking a second time, according to the affidavit. The third juvenile could not be interviewed that night because his mother was "extremely intoxicated," the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, three antique vehicles and the overhead door were damaged during the burglary. Damages were estimated to be in excess of $50,000, the affidavit states.
Shaver's bond was set at $40,000, according to the Benton County Jail website. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 15.
The three juveniles were also arrested, with one released to the custody of juvenile authorities and the other two cited and released to their parents. Similar charges are pending against the juveniles.
Toolbox Theft
Gentry police are also working a case involving the theft of a tool box and tools between Oct. 28 and the morning of Oct. 30 from the back of a pickup truck parked on West Benton Street in Gentry. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at 479-736-8400.
Other Arrests
Police arrested Timothy B. Brinegar, 39, of Siloam Springs, just before midnight on Nov. 4, charging him with public intoxication after police responded to a call of a man trying to get into an apartment on S. Byers Street. When police arrived, Brinegar was allegedly standing in the middle of the street and didn't know where he was. According to police reports, Brinegar was having trouble standing up, had red watery eyes, slurred speech and had the odor of alcoholic beverages on his breath. Police reports state he was combative and attempted to kick out the window of the patrol car in which he was placed when arrested.
On the afternoon of Oct. 25, police arrested Miguel Figueroa-Umana, 36, with address and resident status unknown. According to police reports, Figueroa-Umana was stopped in a maroon minivan for running a stop sign at S. Collins and Arkansas Highway 59 after he was observed driving left of center and to the right of the fog line. According to reports, Figueroa-Umana presented an identification with the name of David Luyando and said he didn't have a driver's license in Arkansas. He also allegedly spoke with slurred speech, had bloodshot and watery eyes and had the strong odor of intoxicants on his breath. He failed a field sobriety test, according to reports, and later tested 0.126 blood alcohol content, with the legal limit being .080. When being booked into the county jail, Figueroa-Umana gave his true identity, which was verified by fingerprint records. He also allegedly admitted purchasing the false identification for $200. He was charged with driving without a license, failure to stop at a stop sign, driving while under the influence, and felony forgery in the first degree.
On Oct. 24, Gentry police arrested Jose Reyes De Leon, 30, after police observed him urinating against a building on Main Street. De Leon, according to an affidavit of probable cause, presented a false Texas identification, Social Security number and birth certificate with the name of Timothy J. Gonzales. Police arrested De Leon for public intoxication because he spoke with slurred speech, had bloodshot and watery eyes and was having trouble standing up. At the Benton County Jail, De Leon was fingerprinted and identified by immigration officials. De Leon allegedly admitted to immigration officials that he had purchased the false identification papers for $200. He also faces charges of felony forgery in the first degree for his alleged use of the false identification papers.
Police arrested Leslie N. McLoad, 36, of Lake Village, Chicot Co., on Oct. 30, after she allegedly was driving north on Arkansas Highway 59 in a 2002 Ford utility vehicle at a high rate of speed, passed a school bus and crashed her vehicle into the back of a 1995 Ford pickup truck driven by Charles Arnold of Gentry near the Brook Lynn Drive intersection. McLoad continued northbound after the accident, according to reports. McLoad's vehicle was found disabled and facing north in a southbound lane of Arkansas Highway 59 at Park Circle. McLoad was standing outside against a sign post and assisted by a witness so she wouldn't fall but found by medics to be uninjured, according to the report. According to reports, McLoad had the odor of intoxicants on her breath and was allegedly too intoxicated to do any field sobriety testing and became combative, attempting to kick out patrol car windows when arrested. McLoad allegedly refused blood alcohol testing at the jail and became combative. She was charged with driving while under the influence, DWI test refusal, leaving the scene of an accident, no proof of insurance and careless driving, according to the report.
General News on 11/19/2014