Eyeglasses left at crime scene lead to suspect, 8-year prison sentence

A pair of eyeglasses left at the scene of a crime in Baxter County has led to the arrest of an Izard County man, 64-year-old Danny Sturgis of Melbourne. Sturgis entered a guilty plea in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and received an eight-year prison sentence.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed Thursday, the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence along Jordan Road in mid-April at the request of the homeowner.

The owner said she had been contacted by the power company advising the lines to the residence had been cut and her home vandalized.

Earlier in the day, deputies had responded to an alarm call at the residence and found the home secured. When a deputy returned later that day, he discovered a bedroom window broken and the back door open.

The vacation homeowners from Illinois traveled to Jordan and met a sheriff’s investigator at the residence later in April. During a survey of the home, the investigator located a pair of men’s eyeglasses on the top of a dresser in a bedroom. The eyeglasses did not belong to the victim.

The glasses were sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for DNA analysis. After analysis, DNA on the eyeglasses was identified as that of Sturgis. The homeowners confirmed they did not know Sturgis.

The investigation also revealed a barn at the residence was entered, with extensive damage to the outside wall. Once inside the barn, the victim’s camper was entered and items removed.

Items removed included two outboard boat motors, two trolling motors, a .22 rifle, a .25 caliber pistol, seven air pistols, a bench grinder and several other tools. The victim valued the items in excess of $10,000.

Sturgis was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center Thursday and has been charged with three counts of theft of property, two counts of breaking or entering and one each of residential burglary and criminal mischief, all felony offenses.

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