A 24-year-old Flippin woman, Brianna Middle, charged with stealing two cars in the span of just a few days, was in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her.
Middle first said she wanted to plead guilty, but Judge Gordon Webb said he was always reluctant to take a guilty plea on first appearance before defendants had any opportunity to discuss their cases with a lawyer.
On April 24th, an officer from the Gassville Police Department was notified by a car dealership that Middle had taken a 2005 Scion for a test drive and had not returned the car. She had left a 1998 Chevrolet Lumina on the lot.
Gassville police sent a description of the stolen vehicle to the Marion County Sheriffs Office since Middle had listed an address in that county.
The next day, Gassville officers were called to a vehicle fire on Mill Creek Road in Marion County. The vehicle involved was a match for the vehicle stolen from the Gassville dealership.
Police made contact with Middle and she came in voluntarily to speak with Gassville officers. According to the probable cause affidavit, Middle confessed to taking the Scion. She said that she had wrecked it and as a result, the car caught fire and was a total loss. She had left the scene when police arrived.
The value of the vehicle was listed as just under $6,000
Middle said she had taken the car with the intent of driving it to Kansas.
Middle is also charged with taking a womans car from a Mountain Home convenience store in the early morning hours of April 27th when the woman was inside the store delivering newspapers.
The woman told Mountain Home police she had left the vehicle running and had only been in the store for a few minutes and when she went outside, her car was gone.
The manager gave police a description of Middle who had been seen loitering outside the store prior to the vehicle theft.
Middle was interviewed at the Marion County Sheriffs Office and admitted she had taken the car and that she had used the victims debit card at a grocery store and gas station in Yellville.
Middle told officers she took the car because she was cold and tired and needed to get home.
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