Photo: Luke Alexander Dennis
A Mountain Home man who pled guilty on Aug. 12 to charges in Baxter County, including fighting with a Mountain Home police officer, was arrested and charged with residential burglary in Izard County less than a year later.
The new charges in Izard County resulted in a petition being filed to revoke 34-year-old Luke Alexander Dennis’s 36-month probation in the Baxter County case.
Dennis was in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday and pled not guilty to allegation in the revocation petition. A hearing was set for Nov. 15.
In the probable cause affidavit on the residential burglary case in Izard County, the somewhat bizarre activity attributed to Dennis while he was in the apartment of another person is outlined.
The situation began on Oct. 3 when the daughter of the apartment’s tenant was asked by her mother to go to her apartment and lock the door.
She said she had left it open so apartment maintenance could do some work and wanted it made secure until she could return.
When the daughter entered the Calico Rock apartment she saw a male sitting on the couch. When she asked him who he was and what he was doing, he is reported to have said only that his name was “Luke.”
She noticed he had a knife in his back pocket. When the daughter asked the man to leave, he complied.
As the apartment was checked, a number of odd things were observed. A knife had been plunged into the bathroom ceiling and other locations in the unit, a stove had been damaged and a number of what were described as “strange handwritten notes” were left around the apartment.
In addition, there were stuffed animals hung from ceiling fans, food that the tenant had not prepared left out on plates and a bathroom light fixture had been destroyed.
The daughter was shown a printed lineup of potential suspects and identified a photo of Dennis as the man who had been in her mother’s apartment.
The phone number Dennis had given his probation officer in the Baxter County case was the same one written on one of the notes left in the Calico Rock apartment.
The Baxter County charges against Dennis stem from a traffic stop.
The officer reported pulling up behind a pickup truck about 11 a.m. on Dec. 1 last year with a license plate that expired in 2016.
After the office activated his emergency lights, the vehicle, which was driven by Dennis, pulled into a parking lot.
When the officer told him the reason for the stop, Dennis said he was on the way to renew the license plate.
The officer noted in his report that Dennis was actually headed away from the local office of the state Department of Finance and Administration.
The officer reported Dennis to be very nervous. He had problems finding his driver’s license and proof of insurance.
In the probable cause affidavit, the officer reported he detected the odor of marijuana and asked Dennis if he had any of the substance in his possession.
Dennis is alleged to have answered, “Yes, do you want it?”
At one point, Dennis began to actively resist, and the officer called for backup. In addition, a civilian working nearby came to offer assistance.
The officer pulled his Taser and “drive stunned” Dennis several times in the left leg.
Dennis tried to take the weapon away from the officer who reported he “struck the offender several times” making him release his grip on the Taser.
At one point, Dennis got back in the driver’s seat of the truck, and the officer and civilian had to pull him out of the vehicle and onto the ground.
He continued to refuse to put his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed.
The officer said he was concerned Dennis might have a weapon and so continued to strike him with his fist to force compliance with his instructions.
A second officer arrived, and Dennis was finally handcuffed.
Officers found a small bag of methamphetamine in Dennis’ wallet and paraphernalia used to ingest both methamphetamine and marijuana on his person.
Dennis was taken to Baxter Regional Medical Center for treatment. After being released, he was taken to the county jail.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI