A Mountain Home woman, 29-year-old Brandy Hughes, part of a duo charged earlier this year with multiple break-ins and thefts in the area, is now facing felony forgery charges in Izard County.
Online court records indicate Hughes has two open cases in Baxter County with more than 30 charges pending.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the Izard County incident, the day before Hughes was arrested in Baxter County on the numerous felony charges, she allegedly attempted to pay for items at a Calico Rock business with a forged check. The forgery charge lead to her arrest in Izard County April 2nd.
Hughes’ attempt to pass the forged check was caught on store surveillance footage. The check belongs to a Henderson resident. When it was processed, the check was declined. Hughes then left her items and the check and exited the store.
Izard County law enforcement, working with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, discovered local officials were working a theft case in connection with the checks.
When Hughes was arrested January 12th on Baxter County charges, she was questioned about the Izard County incident. She allegedly told investigators she and other people had been practicing writing the signature of the owner of the checks to see who could best match it.
When officers spoke with the owner of the checks, he said he met Hughes when she asked him to work on a vehicle. But he declined to do the work and did not authorize her to use or write any checks in his name.
Hughes is being held in Izard County on a $10,000 bond, pending her appearance in circuit court later this month.
Hughes and 28-year-old David Fiss were captured in January nearly a month after Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery asked for the public’s help in locating him. A bench warrant had been issued for Fiss in late December 2017 charging him with felony and misdemeanor crimes related to multiple thefts.
Sheriff Montgomery said at the time of the arrests Fiss was arrested after deputies acted on a citizen tip in regard to his location. The tip established Fiss was at a home on Edgehill Lane in the Jordan area.
A female, later identified as Hughes, fled from the residence when officers were arriving. The canine team tracked her for approximately two miles to another residence. They observed muddy boot prints on a door, which had been kicked open. Hughes was found hiding inside some cabinets inside the vacant residence.
The warrant for Fiss was obtained as a result of investigations into multiple thefts and break-ins reported between November 28, 2017 and December 12, 2017.
Fiss has at least three prior felony convictions and has been booked into the Baxter County Detention Center 22 times since 2007.
Hughes has been booked into the detention center 14 times since 2009.
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