Comstock takes plea, sentencing set for next month

    Brandon Comstock of rural Mountain Home pled guilty to charges against him in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and will return to court for formal sentencing January 5th.
    The 32-year-old Comstock was originally charged with residential burglary and theft of property in one case and with drug-related charges in another. The state amended the residential burglary charge to the lesser offense of breaking or entering and misdemeanor theft of property.
    On May 10th, Comstock set off a manhunt after being spotted inside another person's residence in the Mallard Point area. A homeowner on Bayview Drive reported that he heard someone attempting to break into his garage. When he went to investigate, he found a male inside his storage room at the end of his attached carport.
    The victim reported that the man, who had a knife strapped to his belt but did not brandish it, had objects in his hand belonging to the homeowner. When confronted, the man dropped the items and ran across the street and into the woods.
    In an attempt to apprehend the man, roadblocks were set up, the Sheriff's helicopter was launched and a canine tracking team from the state prison at Calico Rock was brought to the scene. The dogs tracked the suspect through the woods to a residence on Bayside Terrace. No one would answer the door.
    After investigators determined that Comstock was the person living at the address and likely the person who committed the break-in, a search warrant was obtained and executed. Comstock was found locked in a bathroom inside the residence where he lived with his father. He is alleged to have admitted to the break-in. He initially told investigators that he was searching for items that he contended had been stolen from his home, but investigators found no theft reports had been filed by Comstock or anyone living at the Bayside Terrace address.
    The second set of charges against Comstock were filed in September when he was stopped by Mountain Home Police on an active warrant from Louisiana and was found to be in possession of a small amount of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine and twelve Alprazolam pills for which he had no prescription.