Danny Haley (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
A Gassville man accused of stealing a John Deere Gator from his brother appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court last Monday.
Sixty-one-year-old Danny Haley pled guilty to charges of theft of property and second-degree criminal mischief. He was sentenced to 10 years-probation.
Haley’s brother, who lives in Cotter, reported he had noticed his 2019 Gator was missing from his home. He said he drove to his brother’s residence and located the missing vehicle in the backyard behind a shed.
He told Cotter police the unit had sustained damage to the door and roof. The brother said Haley was not allowed on his property and had no authority to take the Gator.
A bill of sale valued the unit at $12,000. The Gator is described as a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) equipped with a cargo box similar to a pickup truck.
Damage to the unit was estimated at almost $1,600 and restitution was ordered paid to the victim.
Haley has had several brushes with the law. Deputy Prosecutor Chris Carter said Haley’s brother agreed with the sentence, but had made it clear this was Danny Haley’s “last chance.”
In 2018 he was charged with burning a rental house in Gassville where he and his wife lived following an argument. The charge was eventually reduced to reckless burning and he was sentenced to six years-probation and ordered to pay $35,000 in restitution.
Haley was reported to have been heavily intoxicated. The reading on a breathalyzer was .231, according to the probable cause affidavit.
He picked up a four-year prison sentence in 2020 after unsuccessfully trying to outrun police. According to the probable cause affidavit in that case, a Cotter police officer spotted a pickup truck parked in a private drive after dark. When the officer activated his emergency lights, Haley took off.
He eventually plowed through a lawn, stopped and then fled on foot. The Cotter office caught Haley and he was taken into custody without further incident.
At the time, Haley’s drivers’ license was suspended because of a driving while intoxicated charge, and he had an active warrant issued in West Plains for not appearing in court on a DWI with injury charge.
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