A man who was going into vehicles on the Hardee’s parking lot and taking items of personal property appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal July 7 and pled no contest to the charges against him and told Judge John Putman that he did not remember doing the things that resulted in his arrest.
During the first try at a plea, 39-year-old Joseph Kight was hesitant when Judge Putman read the charges against him and then asked if he was guilty of those charges. The plea taking was postponed while Kight talked with his lawyer.
Eventually, Kight said he could take a no contest plea. Kight mentioned drinking and taking medicine as two reasons his memory of the events was so faulty.
He was sentenced to three years-probation.
As a Mountain Home police officer was responding to the incident at the fast-food restaurant, he was told that the suspect ran east, jumped a fence and ran toward Spring Street.
Kight was reported to have entered a vehicle along Spring Street. The owners said when they yelled at him, he abandoned the vehicle and ran toward Russell Street.
The Spring Street victim followed the man as he turned back toward Hardee’s and tried to get into another car.
When the MHPD officer arrived, Kight was headed west on Spring. As the officer turned into Spring Street, the suspect looked back and began to run behind residences.
He continued his effort to elude the law and refused to obey commands given to him by a second officer who had arrived on scene.
The second officer pulled even with the suspect and warned that if he did not get on the ground a stun gun would be used on him.
Kight had stopped running but was not following instructions the officers gave him. A taser was fired which caused the suspect to fall to the ground.
Officers were eventually able to put hand restraints on Kight.
Kight injured himself when he fell to the ground and was bleeding from his forehead. He refused medical treatment.
An officer went to the area where Kight had been seen throwing an object over a fence. The object turned out to be a blue fiber grocery bag. In the area where the suspect had jumped a fence a vape smoking device was located.
The smoking device had been taken out of one of the vehicles Kight entered.
Kight was initially charged with two counts of breaking or entering/vehicle, theft of property and fleeing.
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