Photo: Robert A. Abbott
A convicted felon allegedly discovered sleeping in the cab of a vehicle reported stolen from a Missouri electric cooperative with two loaded firearms has been formally charged in Ozark and Howell counties, as well as Fulton County.
The West Plains Quill reports the crimes in that state were reportedly committed over four days beginning June 29 and ending the morning of July 2 with the arrest of 45-year-old Robert A. Abbott of Koshkonong by West Plains police officers. The crimes include the alleged theft of six vehicles.
Abbott was reportedly transferred from the Howell County jail to Ozark County on charges there, according to Howell County Sheriff’s Department officials.
Online court records indicate Abbott is facing felony charges of tampering with a motor vehicle, stealing of firearms and unlawful possession of firearms in Ozark County.
The Ozark County Times identifies Abbott as a Gainesville resident and says his charges are in connection with a truck stolen June 30.
The truck’s owner told Ozark County Sheriff’s Department officers he had driven his vehicle to a restaurant on Third Street in Gainesville. He called authorities about 2:44 p.m. to report the truck missing, according to the probable cause statement.
The victim said the truck had been connected to a trailer loaded with excavating equipment. When he finished eating, he noticed the trailer was still where he had parked it, but the truck and its contents, including a 9mm handgun, were missing.
That evening a property owner on County Road 530 discovered the truck behind a residence and called the sheriff’s office after seeing a Facebook post about the theft. The truck keys and handgun were missing.
In an interview with Abbott when he was taken into custody in Howell County, he reportedly told Ozark County law enforcement he took the truck from outside the Gainesville restaurant, after he noticed the keys were in the ignition. He said he unhooked the trailer and drove the truck to County Road 530 and parked it behind what he believed was an abandoned house.
Abbott said he walked to Highway 160 and headed east toward West Plains, but he went back to the truck to get his cigarettes and then returned to the highway and walked to West Plains.
In Howell County, records indicate he is facing six felony counts of stealing a motor vehicle.
At the time of his arrest, the West Plains Police Department advised Abbott was being held on multiple agency warrants in Missouri and Arkansas.
A check of online court records in Arkansas indicates Abbott is wanted on a felony theft of property charge in Fulton County.
According to the probable cause affidavit, prior to the four-day spree in Missouri, Abbott is alleged to have taken a truck for a test drive and did not return it. The vehicle was later found wrecked.
His alleged four-day spree in Missouri began when a pickup, valued at $10,000, was reported stolen from South 63 Motors on Broadway in West Plains; surveillance video reportedly shows Abbott riding a bicycle to the truck and stealing it.
Abbott reportedly told investigators the vehicle had been given to a woman, but he didn’t know where it was.
On July 1, a second pickup was reported stolen from Nichols Drive by an employee of Grisham Properties; no value was provided.
That vehicle was reportedly later found parked at Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative on north U.S. 63.
The vehicle in which Abbott was said to be discovered was a pickup truck belonging to Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, pulling an 18-foot flatbed trailer. Also in the truck were tools and electronic tablets taken from other vehicles on the lot belonging to the business, with a total property value of $16,838, according to documents submitted to prosecutors.
Police allege Abbott drove the stolen truck from Nichols Drive to Howell-Oregon Electric Co-op. He left the vehicle from Nichols Drive when he allegedly took the co-op’s truck.
A fourth truck was reported stolen July 1 from a home on Eighth Street in West Plains, along with a .45-caliber pistol that was in the vehicle. The pistol was reportedly found in the vehicle with Abbott at the time of his arrest.
A fifth truck was also reported stolen July 1 from Southern Hills Auto Plaza, valued at $46,000. The vehicle, with the keys missing, was found parked at Southern Bank on Preacher Roe Boulevard.
Witnesses stated the suspect was seen walking through the car lot, entering the vehicle and driving it away from the dealership.
Shortly after the incident, a dealership employee identified Abbott as the man seen on the car lot, and a set of keys belonging to the vehicle, the dealership and another local business was reportedly found in the vehicle Abbott was caught sleeping in.
A pistol reported stolen in Ozark County was also reportedly found with Abbott at the time of his arrest. He allegedly told officers he was given both firearms as payment for debt in lieu of cash by another person. As a convicted felon, Abbott is barred from being in possession of firearms.
Details on the sixth vehicle reportedly stolen were not available.
Abbott’s bond on the Missouri charges is set at $20,000.
The Daily Quill reports in January, Abbott was arrested on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
The responding officer reported he was called to the emergency room at Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains to interview a man who said he had been assaulted by Abbott with a baseball bat.
In 2013, Abbott was sentenced to six years in prison on two Oregon County charges of first-degree tampering.
Another open case includes a charge of first-degree tampering from August 2016.
Charges filed in 2019 included two counts of stealing $750 or more, two counts of stealing a motor vehicle, two counts of third-degree domestic assault, three counts of stealing and a count each of first-degree harassment, fourth-degree domestic assault and second-degree burglary.
Court records show he pleaded guilty to a count of stealing $750 or more as part of a plea agreement and was handed a five-year suspended execution of sentence, with five years of supervised probation.
Abbott also has pending cases dating back to 2019 in Ozark, Douglas, Wright, Christian and Greene counties.
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