Fingerprint matches trio to Seligman burglary
December 31, 2014
Charlea Mills
After being arrested and held in the Benton County, Ark., Jail, three people have been connected to a Barry County burglary through fingerprint matching.
The three people, Jeffrey Mounts, 23, West Virginia; James Theodore Wagner, 50, Tennessee; and Charlene Ann Hayes, 45, are each currently being held in the Benton County Jail and now face charges in Barry County, as well.
The crime occurred on October 5 when Mounts and Wagner burglarized a home on State Highway 37 in Seligman. Mounts cut a screen to gain entry into the home through a window. Once inside, the pair stole $8,816.60 worth of jewelry and a Beretta .25 caliber pistol. When Mounts was arrested in Siloam Springs, Ark., he was still carrying the pistol.
They also admitted that Hayes acted as lookout in the vehicle, and then sold most of the stolen property to pawn shops in northwest Arkansas. Hayes was wearing some of the stolen jewelry at the time of her arrest.
The three were travelling through Barry County when they stopped in Seligman for the burglary, according to a press release from the Barry County Sheriff’s Department. Epperly stated that the only way these three individuals were caught was because of the fingerprint that Officer Bill Watkins was able to obtain right after the burglary.
Each of the three are being charged with burglary in the second degree and stealing, both class C felonies. They are currently in the Benton County Jail waiting extradition to Barry County.
Charlea Mills
After being arrested and held in the Benton County, Ark., Jail, three people have been connected to a Barry County burglary through fingerprint matching.
The three people, Jeffrey Mounts, 23, West Virginia; James Theodore Wagner, 50, Tennessee; and Charlene Ann Hayes, 45, are each currently being held in the Benton County Jail and now face charges in Barry County, as well.
The crime occurred on October 5 when Mounts and Wagner burglarized a home on State Highway 37 in Seligman. Mounts cut a screen to gain entry into the home through a window. Once inside, the pair stole $8,816.60 worth of jewelry and a Beretta .25 caliber pistol. When Mounts was arrested in Siloam Springs, Ark., he was still carrying the pistol.
They also admitted that Hayes acted as lookout in the vehicle, and then sold most of the stolen property to pawn shops in northwest Arkansas. Hayes was wearing some of the stolen jewelry at the time of her arrest.
The three were travelling through Barry County when they stopped in Seligman for the burglary, according to a press release from the Barry County Sheriff’s Department. Epperly stated that the only way these three individuals were caught was because of the fingerprint that Officer Bill Watkins was able to obtain right after the burglary.
Each of the three are being charged with burglary in the second degree and stealing, both class C felonies. They are currently in the Benton County Jail waiting extradition to Barry County.