Photo: Steven Ray Gauger
A Baxter County man, 28-year-old Steven Ray Gauger of Gamaliel, is facing a multitude of charges following his arrest in connection with six separate reported incidents of breaking or entering, theft and trespass.
The latest offenses when combined with two other open cases brings the total number of charges Gauger is facing to 34, with 26 of them being felonies.
In the most recent case, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says Tuesday morning just before 10 his office was advised of a suspicious person at a residence along County Road 467.
An individual at the residence told a sheriff’s deputy a license plate number for the van the suspicious man was traveling in had been obtained.
While in the same general area, the deputy responded to a call along County Road 37 of a suspicious person, also traveling in a silver colored van. In this case, the suspicious man had come to a residence and asked the homeowner if he would like to purchase some firewood.
The owner declined the purchase, and the man left. A short time later, the homeowner discovered two chainsaws valued collectively at approximately $675 were missing from his front porch.
The deputy had information indicating Gauger could possibly be the person in the silver van, with both complaining parties identifying the Clarkridge man from a photo as the individual who had been at their respective residences.
Officers located Gauger and a silver van at an address along Maple Leaf Trail. While investigators were speaking with Gauger, they observed a canoe and a flat bottom boat matching the description of ones being stolen at another recent theft on Baxter County Road 36.
When questioned about those articles, Gauger asked for an attorney. Gauger lives in a trailer on the property belonging to another individual who gave investigators permission and consent to look around the property.
The canoe and boat were confirmed as having been stolen from the County Road 36 address. The victim of that theft stated he and his family had recently lost their home to a fire. They had been making trips to the home place to gather property when they discovered the canoe, the boat, tools, and various other miscellaneous items missing from the yard and from two storage sheds on the property.
Also located on the property was a motorcycle taken from inside a structure on County Road 187 reported stolen on Jan. 13, with a subsequent report from the same victim taken on Jan. 17 concerning stolen automobile parts the victim saw in the yard of another address on County Road 187.
While investigating the location on County Road 187, officers saw a small utility trailer parked in the driveway. The persons residing there stated Gauger had left the trailer. The trailer appeared to have been repainted, and its flooring was not typical. Further investigation revealed the trailer had been reported stolen from an address on State Highway 5 North.
When confirmed stolen property was found in Gauger’s possession, he was arrested and taken into custody. Investigators also found a 12 gauge shotgun at the residence. With a prior conviction for a felony crime, Gauger is prohibited from possessing firearms.
Gauger was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center on charges related to six separate reports taken from Jan. 5 through Jan. 21.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the felony charges include eight counts of breaking or entering, three counts of theft of property and one count of possession of firearms by certain persons, meaning Gauger is a convicted felon. He also faces four misdemeanor counts of theft of property, one count of criminal mischief and two counts of criminal trespass.
Gauger is being held in lieu of $25,000 bond and is expected to make an appearance in circuit court later this month.
Last June, already facing a number of serious drug-related charges, including having four young children living in his home test positive for drugs in their systems, Gauger was newly arrested after allegedly being involved in a fight with another person.
He was arrested by Mountain Home Police on a second-degree battery charge. Gauger, who posted a $10,000 bond on his original charges, was first released from the Baxter County jail Feb. 28. He was reported missing on March 18 by his father, who told police he had not had contact with his son since the day before.
The original story is available here.
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