Searcy Co. man arrested after 3 years on the run
About 5:45 Tuesday morning helicopters from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and the U.S. Army National Guard touched down outside the residence of a parole absconder in the Gilbert area of Searcy County. By about 6:00, 52-year-old Gene McCutcheon of St. Joe had been taken into custody without incident.
Onboard the Baxter County Sheriff’s helicopter piloted by officer Benny Magness and the guard helicopter were eight law enforcement personnel under the direction of the Department of Community Corrections Special Response Team. Officers from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Buffalo National River Park Service. The K9 team from the North Central Unit of the Department of Correction at Calico Rock was also on hand.
Community Corrections Deputy Director Dina Tyler says McCutcheon has been a parole absconder since March 2015. He was released from the Department of Correction in 2013 after serving time for domestic battery, false imprisonment and terroristic threatening, but according to CourtConnect, he was facing a felony charge of possession of a firearm by a certain person nearly two years later. The Searcy County Sheriff’s Office and Probation Parole Officer Cody Cassell executed a home visit to McCutcheon’s residence in Marshall and located two firearms, ammunition and a large baggie containing marijuana seeds. As a parolee, McCutcheon was prohibited from possessing a firearm. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest in December of that year.
Law enforcement utilized the helicopters and the surprise approach because McCutcheon has a history of slipping past them in previous efforts to take him into custody.
McCutcheon was transported to the Baxter County Detention Center where he is currently being held without bond.
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Lover’s quarrel ends with house being burned
A Gassville man has been arrested after allegedly setting fire to a house he and his wife were renting, following an argument between the two Friday afternoon.
Fifty-four-year-old Danny K. Haley has been charged with arson after admitting to police he set the fire destroying the house at 53 Moon Hollow Lane in Gassville. Haley told Gassville Police Captain Everett Uchtman he and his wife had been arguing Friday and he set the bed on fire in their bedroom. Haley told the officer the fire quickly got out of control, and he tried to put it out but couldn’t and had to exit the house.
The house was a total loss. Haley’s wife, Linda Laffoon, had left the residence after the fight to tell the owner of the home, Freddie Crownover, her husband was threatening to burn the house down. When she returned, the house was already fully involved.
Captain Uchtman told KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news, he interviewed Haley for several hours at the police station after the fire but he was very intoxicated, registering a .231 on the breathalizer and continued to change his story. At first, he said his wife burned the house down. Haley then said another person had started the fire. Then he told police the homeowner wanted the house burned down. After Captain Uchtman took Haley back to the scene and discovered the fire had started in the bedroom, Haley said he had unplugged a heater in the bedroom and a spark set the bed on fire. About three hours into the interrogation, Haley finally admitted to Captain Uchtman he had started the blaze by setting the bed on fire with a cigarette lighter.
Haley was brought back for questioning Monday morning when he was not intoxicated, and Captain Uchtman said his story was the same so he was placed under arrest for arson. Haley is being held in the Baxter County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.
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Trial of man who kept woman bound in duct tape continued
The trial of David Gengler of Lakeview, who faces charges stemming from the alleged beating, rape, torture and robbery of a female victim, has been continued until late June. The continuance will allow Judge Gordon Webb to make a ruling on a motion filed by Gengler’s defense attorneys to prohibit the Lakeview man’s ex-wife from testifying in his trial.
The hearing on the motion was to be held during a Baxter County Circuit Court session Thursday, but Judge Webb announced he had not had time to go over all of the evidence related to the motion.
The argument centers on whether the ex-wife’s testimony would constitute an inadmissible type of “character evidence.”
Evidence of past crimes, wrongs or acts committed by a defendant is not admissible under Rule 404 (b) of the Arkansas Rules of Evidence as proof the person might be expected to repeat the bad behavior in the future.
There are, however, a number of exceptions to the rule allowing such evidence to be introduced during a trial, including as proof of motive.
In the motion, defense lawyers list a number of reasons the testimony of the ex-wife should be kept out of the trial. They call the allegation made by the woman “extreme” and the “product of a contested divorce” more than 15 years ago.
Gengler’s attorneys wrote the state had no reason for any evidence the ex-wife might provide to prove its case, and contend the testimony would inflame rather than inform the jury. The attorneys also argue the information would create “unfair prejudice against their client.
The 56-year old Gengler was formally charged with kidnaping and five counts of first-degree battery on June 1st, 2016. Later in the same month, the more serious charges of rape and aggravated robbery were filed. The latter charges were based on information developed during the investigation the victim had suffered what was described as severe sexual trauma while being held against her will.
It was also determined money was missing from several locations in the residence. Gengler was reported to have had a large sum of money in his wallet when he was initially booked into the county jail.
Gengler’s problems with the law in Baxter County began when deputies responded to a residence along Greenwood Avenue in Lakeview May 24th, 2016 and found a badly beaten female victim. Gengler and the then 57-year-old woman shared the residence, according to investigative records.
The victim was found lying on the floor by the front door of the residence.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said at the time the victim had marks on her wrists and appeared to have been bound for days. She also had numerous other injuries including what were thought to be cigarette burns.
Investigators reported finding blood splattered on the walls of the residence and a large amount of duct tape with hair stuck to it on the bathroom floor. A knife and bloody cigarette butt were also found and taken into evidence.
The victim was able to make a 911 call requesting assistance. According to an incident report from the Sheriff’s Office, the victim asked for an ambulance but was initially hesitant to say why one was needed. She would eventually tell the 911 dispatcher, “He will kill me.”
Gengler who was at the residence, told investigators the victim was bipolar and “falls all the time.” He has denied inflicting the injuries, holding the woman against her will or having forced sexual relations with her.
Deputies had been to the home in response to an earlier domestic disturbance call on May 19th, 2016. The victim told deputies on that occasion she and Gengler had been in a heated argument over his “drinking habits.” She said Gengler had shoved her during the argument. Gengler said the disagreement had arisen over the victim’s gambling, and he denied having any physical contact with her during the earlier disturbance.
During an interview with the victim at a Springfield hospital, following the second and more serious incident resulting in the current charges against Gengler, the victim told investigators she had been bound for two or three days. She said Gengler taped her in an upright position and punched, beat and kicked her. The victim said Gengler also choked her and burned her with cigarettes. According to the victim, her relationship with Gengler began when he moved into the residence in October 2015 to work as a handyman.
Gengler has undergone a psychological evaluation to determine if he is fit to proceed in his cases. Since the cases are moving forward, it can be assumed he was found fit.
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Woman who lied to get her son arrested now charged herself
Melva Sellers of Mountain Home, who gave allegedly untruthful information to law enforcement officers regarding a hatchet attack resulting in her son’s arrest, has now been arrested herself for the false report.
Sellers was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center Wednesday morning and charged with the felony offense of filing a false report with a law enforcement agency. Her bond was set at $2,500.
In early 2017, the 74-year-old Melva Sellers alleged her son, Bradley Sellers, had attacked her with a hatchet during a heated argument.
She said her son had become angry with her because he had been put on probation and blamed his mother for his problems with the law.
Melva Sellers said her son had gotten a hatchet and threw it at her during one point in the confrontation between mother and son at their residence along Timberlane Road. She also told investigators her son had allegedly put the hatchet up to her neck and threatened to kill her. In an affidavit seeking an order of protection filed around the time of the alleged attack, Melva Sellers said her son had told her he wanted to “kill you so bad. I’m going to do it sooner or later.” The mother said she had told her son to “go ahead and do it.”
Melva Sellers appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court in January and recanted her statements in the affidavit for the Order of Protection, as well as statements she made about the alleged hatchet attack to the Baxter County deputy sheriff who responded to the initial domestic disturbance call.
She told the court it was not her son, but some unidentified man who had actually threatened her with the hatchet. She was unable to identify him, telling the court she and her son maintained an “open house” policy allowing people to stay in their home when they had no other place to go. Because of that policy, Melva Sellers said, people came and went frequently, and she was not acquainted with all of them.
Melva Sellers told the court having her son arrested was part of a somewhat bizarre plan to get rid of a woman who had had a relationship with her son. The mother said the woman was feeding her false information about her son, including saying he was addicted to methamphetamine.
The mother said she planned to falsely accuse her son of attacking her with the hatchet hoping he would be charged with a misdemeanor, landing him in jail and keeping him out of the house long enough to give her an opportunity to get rid of the unwanted female.
She told the court she was unaware her son could be charged with a felony based on what she reported to law enforcement.
The state did drop charges against Bradley Sellers. Fourteenth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge said the type of charges Bradley Sellers faced were “victim driven” and if the victim was unwilling to proceed with the case or was untruthful in the information provided to law enforcement, the state had little choice but to drop the charges.
During Melva Seller’s court appearance in which she recanted the story she told resulting in her son’s arrest, Circuit Court Judge Gordon Webb asked her if she was aware she could be charged with a crime for giving false information to law enforcement. She replied she was aware that could happen.
Melva Sellers is set to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court in June to respond to the new charge.
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2-vehicle accident on Hwy. 201 claims life of MH man
A two-vehicle accident at Arkansas Highway 201 North and Coley Drive in Mountain Home Monday afternoon has claimed the life of 25-year-old Dakota Ellison of Mountain Home.
Baxter County Coroner Brad Hays says Ellison was taken to Baxter Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after 6:00 Monday evening.
The report indicates Ellison was traveling north on Highway 201 when his vehicle crossed the center turn lane and into the southbound lane of the highway.
The second vehicle, traveling south, was a dump truck driven by 58-year-old Charles Ray Knuckles of Henderson. The report indicates the dump truck left almost 63 feet of skid marks before its front left collided with Ellison’s vehicle. After the impact, Ellison’s vehicle was pushed back to the southeast before coming to final rest in the center turn lane facing northwest. Knuckles was not injured, according to the report.
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