Thirty-seven-year-old Christopher Steven Alsup of Mountain Home was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly stealing a Bobcat tractor and taking it for a ride.
Shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday morning, a Baxter County Detention Center jailer/matron on her way to work encounter Alsup driving a Bobcat down the middle of State Highway 5 North. She noticed that Alsup appeared to be struggling to operate the machinery, and she reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office. The jailer/matron then turned around to check on the driver, but found the still-running Bobcat abandoned on the side of the road.
Deputies responded to the area and found the Bobcat, now with Alsup back on board, again heading south on the highway. When deputies attempted to make contact with Bobcat, Alsup took the Bobcat off the road and into the woods.
An Arkansas State Police officer used a remote controlled drone to search the area for the Bobcat. When it was spotted, deputies converged on the area and found Alsup passed out. He was removed from the woods around 8 a.m. and reportedly told deputies he was intoxicated on Xanax and had taken the Bobcat out for a joyride.
Deputies retraced the Bobcat’s path and discovered that it had been stolen off a contractor’s trailer that had been parked inside a secured and fenced area of an electric company substation.
Alsup was charged with burglary, breaking or entering, theft of property, criminal mischief and driving on a suspended license. The Sheriff’s Office notes that its investigation is ongoing and that it is expected that Alsup will be charged with additional offenses involving similar crimes that are currently under investigation.
Alsup was booked into the Baxter County Jail at 8:39 Sunday morning and was released shortly after 10 that night on a $20,000 bond, online jail records indicate. He is scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
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