Ozark County murder suspect released from prison
HOUSTON, Mo. (AP) An Ozark County man suspected in the death of his wife’s teenage daughter has been released from prison but will remain on a tracking monitor.
The Springfield News-Leader reports special prosecutor Steven Kretzer said Thursday 31-year-old Robert Peat Jr. will be released while the state investigates new developments in the 2017 death of 16-year-old Savannah Leckie.
Fragments of the girl’s bones were found in a burn pile at a home in Ozark County in southwest Missouri where she was living with Peat and Rebecca Ruud.
Ruud was Peat’s biological mother but gave her up for adoption to a Minnesota couple when the girl was born.
Peat and Ruud are charged with first-degree murder in the girl’s death.
Kretzer and Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed declined to elaborate on the new developments in the case.
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Documents filed in sexual assault case
Motion and order to seal documents are now available through the CourtConnect website in connection with the case of a Gassville woman, 23-year-old Karlee Blair Taylor, charged with a felony count of first-degree sexual assault.
The motion to seal the probable cause affidavit and information filed by 14th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge indicates if released to the public, the details could compromise an ongoing investigation. It also notes the release of the case information is sensitive, and it is necessary to withhold this information for a short time to ensure the other investigations are not impaired.
The order to seal signed by Circuit Judge John Putman indicates the three-page probable cause affidavit contains information that if released to the public could compromise the anonymity of the victim or victims and cause potential harm to the them.
Online Baxter County Detention Center records indicate Taylor was booked into the jail Tuesday morning. Jail records show Taylor was in and out of the jail in less than 30 minutes on a bond of $10,000.
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Knife-wielding woman arrested after chasing man
A woman who chased a man with a knife trying to stab him and stood in the middle of the highway with the knife has been arrested. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says 34-year-old Victoria Lynn Carpenter was arrested Monday night and authorities say she gave no reason for her actions.
The sheriff says law enforcement was alerted at 7:41 Monday evening of a woman standing in the middle of Highway 126 in Whiteville holding a knife. An Arkansas state trooper was the first to arrive and found Carpenter on County Road 720. After complying with the officer’s orders to drop the weapon, Carpenter was described as “hysterical” as officers interviewed her.
During the investigation, law enforcement discovered Carpenter had chased a man and tried to stab him when the man arrived at a residence on Highway 126. He fled the residence and escaped to another house down the street.
Carpenter is charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. She is being held on a $15,000 bond.
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MH man accused of breaking into storage unit
A Mountain Home man previously known for breaking into local residences while wearing women’s clothing is facing new charges. According to a Mountain Home Police arrest affidavit, 37-year-old Joshua Long was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center early Sunday morning on felony counts of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and breaking or entering and misdemeanor counts of theft of property and resisting arrest. His bond is set at $10,000.
A Mountain Home officer observed a male subject at a storage unit complex on Church Street Saturday night. The man was identified as Long, and after he came out of one of the units, the officer reportedly discovered another unit had been broken into, and some of its contents were removed and loaded into Long’s truck. A pair of metal tin snips were also found in Long’s truck allegedly used for cutting a hole in the adjacent unit. Long allegedly admitted to breaking in the unit. The officer then located a small plastic container with a baggie of a crystalline substance, and another small plastic baggie containing a similar substance was located on Long’s person. The substances field tested positive for methamphetamine and will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock for verification.
Long pled guilty in Baxter County Circuit Court last fall to charges of residential burglary, theft of property, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, was given five years’ probation and was ordered to pay just over $1,400 restitution. The incident began on the evening of July, 7th when a Gassville Police Officer was dispatched to 204 Smith Lane for a home intruder. On arrival, the officer made contact with the victim who said she and her husband own a home on Smith Lane and have been coming up on the weekends to renovate the residence. The distraught victim said she encountered a half naked man described as five-foot-ten to five-foot-eleven with dark hair, dressed in women’s clothing, who fled on foot. The officer tracked Long to a nearby home, and he was taken into custody.
Additional charges were filed against Long in November by Ozark County Prosecutor John Garrabrant including possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), burglary, trespassing and property damage. An Ozark County deputy responded to a call at a house being cleaned in preparation for new residents. The worker said he had noticed a truck parked in the roadway in front of the house earlier in the day. When he went to the house later in the afternoon to begin cleaning, he was originally unable to gain access because the door was screwed shut. After gaining entry, he smelled cigarette smoke coming from inside and realized someone was in the house. He left the building and went to a neighbor’s. When he returned a short time later, he noticed the sliding door facing the roadway was open, and he observed a man, later identified as Long, attempting to enter the vehicle and leave. The man stopped Long and asked for him to remain there until law enforcement arrived. The responding deputy said he noticed Long was wearing women’s clothing and makeup, along with a wig and Muck boots. He was also smoking a cigarette. Long told the officer his truck ran out of gas, and a friend had just dropped him off some gas. Prints matching Long’s boots were found inside the residence, along with a cigarette butt and women’s garments.
Long is scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court later this month.
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Mother, daughter escape from submerged vehicle without injury
A Mountain Home woman, 38-year-old Laura Brey, and her two-year-old daughter escaped injury Monday morning when the vehicle they were traveling in went off a causeway at Pigeon Creek Road and into Lake Norfork.
According to a report at the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, when officers arrived on the scene, Brey and the toddler were in a parking lot near the causeway.
Brey said she fell asleep, with her vehicle traveling off the left side of the causeway and striking a post before going into the lake where it became totally submerged.
A witness statement attached to the report indicates a Mountain Home couple heard a crash before seeing a vehicle going into the water. When they got to the vehicle, the front end was completely submerged.
Brey was reportedly attempting to get the toddler our of her car seat. She was unable to open the doors, but was able to lower a window. The husband of the couple witnessing the accident swam into the lake and took the toddler through the window, with Brey crawling out of the vehicle. The statement noted “within a minute” the entire car was submerged.
Recuse personnel and a Baxter Regional Medical Center ambulance crew were on the scene. However, neither mother or daughter were transported to the hospital.
Brey was cited for fictitious tags, careless/prohibited driving and not having liability insurance.
The vehicle was recovered from the lake and towed from the scene of the 9:20 a.m. accident.
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