A Cotter man, who claimed he had removed a number of items from a relative’s nearby home to keep them from being stolen, ended up being arrested and charged with stealing the property.
Thirty-three-year-old Jacob Hutchinson appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court recently and pled guilty to his charges and was sentenced to four years probation.
He will also be required to pay slightly more than $2,000 in restitution.
At the time of the incident, Hutchinson told police he knew someone had been “messing around” at his second cousin’s resident located across the road from where he lived.
He said because of that activity, he had removed a washer, dryer, water heater and others items of value and had taken them to his house for safekeeping.
The victim said she asked Hutchinson why he had not called to tell her about his activities at her residence, but that he “got an attitude and walked off.” The victim said she had not given Hutchinson permission to be on her property.
In addition to the washer-dryer and water heater, the victim told Cotter police a window air conditioner, two computers, various movies and games, kids toys, books, women’s clothing, a coffee table, a 50-inch television set, an air compressor, an antique double wash tub, as well as dishes and cooking utensils were all missing.
According to the probable cause affidavit, some of the allegedly stolen items were located in Hutchinson’s’s residence.
As his home was being searched April 26, he was reported to have said that he would have “let the victim recover her property if she had only talked to him about the situation.”
Hutchinson was sentenced under the provisions of Act 346. If he stays out of trouble during his probation, he can apply to the court to have his record sealed.
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