Two Baxter County residents, 28-year-old David Fiss and 28-year-old Brandy Rochelle Hughes, who were arrested last week on numerous charges related to break-ins and thefts in the area, are now facing more charges connected with eight other incidents.
Fiss had been on the sheriff’s “Most Wanted” list one day shy of a month when he was captured Thursday. He was apprehended after deputies acted on a citizen tip advising he was at a home on Edgehill Lane in the Jordan area. Officers took him into custody at the residence, with Hughes fleeing when officers arrived. A canine team from the Arkansas Department of Correction tracked her for approximately two miles to another residence. They observed muddy boot prints on a door, which had been kicked open. Hughes was found hiding inside cabinets inside the residence and taken into custody. The owners were not home.
At the time of their arrests, the two faced charges in connection with six incidents.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says now the two face additional charges in connection with eight other incidents occurring in late 2017 and early 2018.
In December, Fiss was observed at a burglary on County Road 48. The residence had been broken into, and it appeared someone had been squatting there. While investigators were there, they observed Fiss from a distance in a white sport utility vehicle. He was ordered to stop, but quickly fled in the vehicle.
The next day, a white sport utility vehicle was reported to have been stolen from the County Road 48 area.
Also in December, a 5,000-watt generator was reported stolen from a residence along Hwy. 5 South. The garage door had been pried open, and the generator pulled through a cut portion of a barbed wire fence.
Earlier this month, an Arkansas parole officer was advised Fiss and Hughes had returned to the property along County Road 48. Officers checked the residence and found it had been broken into again, as well as an outbuilding. An ATV, a red trailer, and a welder were missing.
Two days later, a black 5×10 utility trailer loaded with sheet metal was stolen from an apartment complex in Mountain Home.
Last week, a 2006 van was reported stolen from a residence on Buzzard Roost Cutoff.
On Thursday, an 18-foot dual axle trailer was reported stolen from a marina on Lake Norfork.
When Fiss and Hughes were arrested Thursday, officers found a personal watercraft and trailer stolen from a location on Lake Norfork Drive. At the same time, officers discovered several checks had been written against the account of the victim from the burglary along County Road 48.
Evidence and witness statements have connected Fiss and Hughes with these additional crimes.
Montgomery says the two are now facing a lengthy list of additional charges including three counts of residential burglary, two counts of breaking or entering, nine counts of theft of property for Fiss and 10 for Hughes, one count of criminal mischief, and nine counts of forgery, as well as 11 additional misdemeanor counts for both Fiss and Hughes and an additional misdemeanor fleeing count against Fiss.
With the additional charges, bonds for the two have been increased by $25,000. Hughes’ original bond was set at $51,715, while bond for Fiss was originally set at $50,000. They will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court later this month.
Hughes has been booked into the Baxter County Detention Center 14 times since 2009. Fiss has at least three prior felony convictions and has been booked into the county jail 22 times since 2007.
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