Photo: Terry “T.J.” Cranor
A 37-year-old Gassville man charged with breaking into his mother’s residence and stealing various items appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court last Thursday.
Terry “T.J.” Cranor entered a plea of not guilty to charges of residential burglary, theft of property and criminal trespass. He is being held in the Baxter County jail.
Cranor asked to be released on his own recognizance to allow him to undergo a mental evaluation, but Circuit Judge Gordon Webb denied the request. The judge did lower Cranor’s bond to $5,000. He was ordered to reappear in circuit court May 13.
Cranor’s residence is described as being across the street from his mother’s home along Crest Loop in Gassville.
The probable cause affidavit contains no information on when Cranor is alleged to have entered his mother’s home, or what was taken. The affidavit alleges he had been ordered not to be on the property. Electronic court records contain two requests for protective orders against Cranor, but neither one lists the mother’s address. One of the petitions was withdrawn, and the other is active with a hearing set for early next month.
Cranor has had run-ins with the law in Gassville on several recent occasions. He was booked into the Baxter County jail Sept. 15, Oct. 18 and Dec. 27 last year and Jan. 11 this year.
All of the arrests were shown to have been made by the Gassville Police Department (GPD). Charges ranged from disorderly conduct, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and fleeing. Most were misdemeanors.
Cranor had one encounter with a law enforcement officer which was probably not wise for a person in his situation. He was alleged to have shouted an accusation directed at Capt. Everett Uchtman of the Gassville Police Department. On Dec. 26, Uchtman reported he was on routine patrol when Cranor is reported to have yelled, “Pedophilia is a crime .. and you’re a pedophile, Uchtman.”
The Gassville officer backed up his patrol car and asked Cranor what he had said. Cranor, who had been talking to a neighbor, was returning to his residence when the question was asked. He is reported to have replied, “You heard me.”
The First Amendment constitutionally protects speech. Generally, unless some other crime can be proven, such as disorderly conduct, a person can say almost anything to a policeman, although it may not be the smartest thing to do.
The GPD officer said he drove around the block once more and then found Cranor across the street on the front porch of his mother’s residence allegedly saying in a loud voice, “Mom, are you okay? It’s T.J., come to the door.”
Uchtman said he had not known at the time Cranor was not to be on the property.
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