Michael Paul Howard, Staci Smith and Christina Walters
Three people charged with breaking into the home of a deceased woman and removing various items of personal property appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court last Thursday and entered not guilty pleas.
Those charged with involvement in the alleged crime at the unoccupied residence on Clay Mountain Lane were:
Forty-year-old Michael Paul Howard formerly of Mountain Home who now lists an address in White Hall in Jefferson County, and thirty-nine-year-old Christina Walters and 33-year-old Staci Smith, both of Mountain Home.
Just after 7 a.m. June 12, Baxter County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of what was described as an ongoing burglary at the home.
The person making the report said a vehicle was parked at the residence that did not belong there and that a male had pried open the door to the residence with a shovel.
When deputies arrived, they found a gold colored Mercury sedan in the driveway.
They also came in contact with Howard, Walters and Smith. As deputies began to question the trio, Howard fled into the woods.
He was captured about a half hour later.
The deputies found that the vehicle, which was registered to Howard, was loaded with bags and items believed to have been removed from the home.
A check of the interior of the residence revealed open doors and drawers and boxes that were being filled with items. While the home was not occupied, all of the woman’s property remained inside.
Of the three people allegedly involved in the burglary, Howard is by far the most well known to local law enforcement.
He has been locked up in the Baxter County jail on multiple occasions and has spent time in the state prison system.
He has had a number of criminal cases opened against him, many stemming from his failure to abide by sex offender registration requirements. Howard was required to register after being convicted of felonious restraint and unlawful use of a weapon in Missouri in 2003. While there was no sexual component to Howard’s charge, Missouri law at the time required registration.
He was reported to have said at one point that he did not show up for a required compliance assessment because he “did not have a driver’s license, he was tired, his mother was asleep and it was raining.”
In Boone County, Howard was convicted of 3rd degree escape, theft of property and criminal mischief in mid-2012.
The charges were brought when he was able to open the door to a vehicle being driven by a Baxter County deputy at a stoplight in Harrison and run off still wearing handcuffs.
He went to a nearby home improvement store where he grabbed a tool and cut his handcuffs off.
Boone County authorities were able to apprehend him approximately an hour-and-a-half after he gained his freedom.
Howard has had a habit of fleeing both on foot and in vehicles through the years.
Bond for Howard, Walters and Smith was set at $25,000. Walters posted bond shortly after being booked and was released.
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