Photo: Clayton Robert Moore
The contacts between law enforcement and Clayton Robert Moore of Norfork have grown more serious during the past three months.
Moore has gone from allegedly breaking into a shed and vehicle to fighting with deputies and an Arkansas State Police Trooper.
The 40-year-old Moore’s first encounter came in mid-May, when he was seen on a woman’s property located along Hopewell Hollow Road.
When a Baxter County deputy sheriff arrived at the residence, Moore was located in a shed wearing a ball cap, a large black plastic trash bag over his body and a pair of boots.
Moore told the deputy he had been in the shed gathering items belonging to his uncle. He said he had been there during the night and had even eaten a meal with the property owner.
The victim said his story was untrue.
Moore was arrested. He pled not guilty to charges of residential burglary, breaking or entering a motor vehicle, breaking or entering a structure and first-degree criminal mischief on May 28.
He is scheduled to reappear in Baxter County Circuit Court Nov. 5.
On Aug. 4, deputies were called to the Briarcliff residence of Moore’s ex-wife.
The ex-wife said Moore had been threatening her and had been violating a no contact order.
The order was issued in July, after Moore was arrested on a third-degree domestic battery charge.
When deputies went to Moore’s residence in August, they talked to him and he said he “did not know what was going on.”
One of the deputies told Moore that, based on evidence and witness statements, he was being arrested for violating the no contact order. Moore was reported to have become combative and began pushing both deputies.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Moore disobeyed commands and a stun gun had to be used on him twice. When deputies approached Moore after he was hit the second time, he was said to have jumped up and fled into the woods.
He was not located at that point.
In addition, his ex-wife had filed a petition for an Order of Protection in the Domestic Relations Division of Baxter County Circuit Court in late April.
She alleged in the petition Moore was using meth and becoming increasingly unstable. She said Moore had threatened her and the couple’s 14-year-old-son when the teen asked his father to “stop being violent.”
On Aug. 12, deputies were called to the Old Joe area to check out a Hummer that appeared to have been wrecked.
Two Baxter County deputies and an Arkansas State Police trooper located the vehicle in a ditch beside Morgan Springs Trail.
In the incident report, the officers reported the vehicle had also been on fire.
The license plate was checked and came back to Moore.
A person living across the road from where the vehicle was found said he had seen it burning. The man said he had broken out the back window and extinguished the blaze.
He told deputies the gas cap had been taken off.
The man said he had pushed the vehicle into the ditch with his tractor.
He said Moore might have set the vehicle on fire, because he had been out of work for about six months, and the vehicle was likely a candidate to be repossessed.
Moore’s whereabouts are not recorded again until Aug. 25, when he was arrested in Izard County after fighting with an Arkansas State Police trooper.
The trooper reported sitting at a stop sign waiting to pull onto Arkansas Highway 5 when he saw a silver Jeep. The license plate on the vehicle came back as belonging on a red pickup truck.
The Jeep was pulled over. Moore was a passenger. He was found to have Baxter County warrants issued after the Aug. 4 event.
As was true with the earlier arrest, Moore did not go quietly. The trooper reported having to take Moore to the ground, after he refused to submit to arrest.
Moore continued to fight, and the trooper struck him with his fist and used a stun gun on him.
Even after establishing a degree of control over Moore, the trooper reported the suspect continued to try and jerk away. Moore also kicked the trooper several times.
Moore was found to have drugs and drug paraphernalia on his person. He was reported to have also brought a pipe used to smoke methamphetamine into the Izard County jail adding to his lengthy list of charges.
Moore’s charges include resisting arrest, second-degree battery against a law enforcement officer, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and bringing contraband into the Izard County jail.
Bond in his Izard County case is set at $50,000.
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