A Gassville woman accused of the theft of property from vehicles parked at a Mountain Home apartment complex in early May pled guilty to the charges against her during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division Monday (July 21).
In addition, the 36-month probation sentence 38-year-old Kathleen “Michelle” Smith had picked up after pleading guilty to breaking into a residence on State Highway 5 South in mid-December 2023 was revoked. The plea also addressed a Marion County case filed in mid-June in which Smith was accused of stealing almost 100 pieces of mail intended for 17 victims with addresses in the county.
She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The revocation was triggered by the new theft charge filed in early May this year.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the 2025 case, Mountain Home Police received a report about 3:15 a.m., May 8 that a suspicious person wearing a mask appeared to be entering vehicles at an apartment complex located along Bradley Drive.
When officers arrived, they reported seeing a vehicle exiting the complex “at a high rate of speed.” Police pursued the vehicle until it came to a stop at the Mountain Home Inn and the driver fled on foot.
Smith was located hiding underneath a truck on the motel parking lot. Officers reported recovering a “white garment” tied in a manner consistent with a makeshift face covering.
A pair of black latex gloves was also found near the truck that was serving as Smith’s hiding place. There were indications that the gloves had been worn recently.
The vehicle that Smith had been driving was registered to another person and the victim told investigators Smith did not have permission to use it. She told officers she was even unaware that it had been taken.
The new charges filed against Smith triggered the filing of a petition to revoke a 36 month-probation sentence she received on a breaking and entering charge on November 4 last year.
The break in was reported by a friend of the resident. The friend told investigators the homeowner was away for an extended period and she had agreed to keep an eye on the property.
The friend said when she arrived to do a check, there was a white 2011 GMC Terrain parked in the driveway which did not belong there. She went into the house and heard someone in the back bedroom. When the intruders realized someone had entered the house, they fled through a window in the back bedroom.
In the probable cause affidavit, the intruders were reported to have been a male and female. The homeowner’s friend said both suspects were wearing ski masks.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a safe in the bedroom was found open and appeared to have been gone through. Investigators found a “safe type box” in another bedroom that was also open.
The television sets and other electronic equipment in the residence appeared to all be in place. The friend was able to provide the license number of the vehicle that was parked in the driveway and it came back to “Michelle” Smith with an address along Buford Cutoff and a male from Gassville.
In the breaking and entering case, Smith was charged with residential burglary and fleeing.
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