A thief who dropped his Pittsburgh Steelers hat at the scene of one of his alleged break-ins helping identify him has been arrested. Forty-year-old Jason Hicks of Conway is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with the break-ins at businesses in Gassville and Midway earlier this year.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, the first incident occurred Jan. 23rd when Hicks allegedly broke into Ray’s Flea Market in Gassville. Authorities determined Hicks gained entry to the building by cutting away some of the metal siding on the building and kicking a hole through the sheet rock.
Video surveillance showed a man using a trash can to load several items in and then leaving the building. The trash can, with some of the stolen items, was found behind the building, along with a ski mask worn during the theft.
Investigators began watching the Leads-On-Line system and found Hicks had sold a ring to a local pawn shop the day after the break-in matching the description of one taken in the burglary. The ring was identified by the owner as one taken from the flea market.
The second incident occurred Jan. 26th, when Hicks allegedly broke into the Dollar General Store at Midway, again by cutting a hole in the metal siding on the building. The suspect left behind a cigarette butt and dropped the hat he was wearing, a Pittsburgh Steelers cap with the logo blacked out.
During their investigation, authorities found a picture of Hicks wearing a hat just like the one left behind at the Dollar General break-in.
Hicks was arrested in Little Rock on the warrants for the thefts and extradited back to Baxter County. He is charged with two felony counts of commercial burglary, two felony counts of criminal mischief in the first degree, two misdemeanor counts of theft of property and being a habitual offender. He is being held in the Baxter County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond. This is the 10th time Hicks has been booked into the Baxter County Detention Center since 2002.
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