Photo: Aaron Blake Laxton
An Izard County man, 31-year-old Aaron Blake Laxton of Mount Pleasant, has been arrested in connection with the reported theft of a vehicle in Melbourne. In addition to a felony theft of property, the convicted felon is facing a possession of firearms by certain persons charge, after law enforcement found a .22 caliber rifle next to his bed.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a motel manager reported her vehicle was missing early on the morning of Jan. 15. The woman said when she awoke, she looked outside to see the vehicle was missing.
The woman told law enforcement Laxton had asked her for a ride the previous evening, and she had refused his request. She said prior to discovering her vehicle was missing, Laxton had been staying in the motel she manages. When she accompanied the deputy to the room Laxton had been occupying, they found it in disarray and no one there.
Investigators traveled to Mount Pleasant to a residence Laxton was known to frequent and observed the missing vehicle in the driveway.
Laxton reportedly confessed to taking the vehicle, saying he had “borrowed” it, and the owner had allowed him to do so. The investigators found a key in the center console of the vehicle labeled with the room number of the motel where Laxton had reportedly stayed.
While speaking with the homeowner, officers learned Laxton lives at the residence. In searching his bedroom, the weapon was located. As a convicted felon, Laxton is prohibited from possessing or being in contact with firearms.
In addition to the two felonies, Laxton was charged as a habitual offender.
His bond was set at $25,000.
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