Photo: Jayson George-Santoro
Two males were arrested Monday on suspicion of theft, after a short vehicle pursuit. According to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, 19-year-old Jayson George-Santoro of Mountain Home is in the Baxter County Detention Center, and a 16-year-old juvenile was turned over to Baxter County Juvenile Services.
The sheriff’s office received a call just before 10 a.m. Monday from a male claiming his residence on Water Plant Road in rural Mountain Home was broken into. He said his pickup truck, a 30-30 rifle, 12 knives, a small safe, personal papers, prescription medication and $3,500 in cash were stolen. The victim stated he left for work around 4 a.m., returned home around 9:45 and found his juvenile son and some of his son’s personal belongings were missing. He believed his son was responsible for the thefts.
The sheriff’s office received reports Monday afternoon of the juvenile and an adult male in the truck near the Baxter/Izard county line on the back roads near Iuka. A deputy reportedly encountered the truck around 2:30 on Arkansas Highway 5 South in Baxter County near the line. He attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver fled a short distance before running off the road and wrecking the vehicle near Wild Fern Lane. Two males exited the truck and fled on foot.
The deputy apprehended a 16-year-old juvenile suspect, as the other male continued to flee. Another deputy spotted him running a short distance away into a wooded area. The canine tracking team from the Arkansas Department of Correction’s North Central Unit in Calico Rock arrived and located the other suspect after a 10-minute search. He was identified as George-Santoro and as the driver.
Deputies searched the vehicle and reportedly located the missing knives, a quantity of cash and marijuana. The suspects allegedly told authorities the safe and firearm had been dropped off at a Salesville residence. The deputies recovered both items, but the safe had been broken into and destroyed.
George-Santoro and the juvenile both face felony counts of breaking or entering, two counts of theft of property, fleeing by vehicle, tampering with evidence and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and misdemeanor counts of possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance and fleeing on foot. George-Santoro faces a felony count of possession of firearms by certain persons as a convicted felon, and he was charged with driving while intoxicated and other traffic offenses from the accident. His bond was set at $20,000.
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