Lawrence John Olson
A man accused of breaking into the residence of a woman jailed on murder charges appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
Fifty-two-year-old Lawrence John Olson of rural Mountain Home entered a plea of guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced to six years probation.
He is accused of breaking into the home of 42-year-old Allison June Cunningham during the time she was being held in the Hidalgo County Texas jail awaiting extradition.
Cunningham was returned from Texas and booked into the Baxter Count jail Jan. 13. Her bond is set at one million dollars.
She is one of four people charged in the murder of 35-year-old Cody Stradford.
A person who was watching the property for her reported to the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office that someone had been inside.
It was the second time deputies had been sent to the house to investigate possible break-ins.
The person watching the house said after the earlier incident that was reported on Dec. 23, 2020 he had secured all of the doors and windows.
When he made the second report on Christmas day, the man told deputies, a wrench used to lock a window down was gone. He also told deputies that items he had put on a couch had been moved to the floor.
While the deputy was on scene, the person watching the property for Cunningham said he wanted to make entry into the house to make sure no one was inside.
He went through a window and met deputies at the front door.
He reported a male was lying under the bed in the room he entered. Deputies found Olson.
Olson said he had permission from Cunningham to go into the house, and claimed he had only come inside “to take a quick nap.”
The owner was contacted in the Texas jail and she said Olson was not supposed to be in her home.
Olson was reported to have had a number of items in his pants pocket, including items of jewelry and controllers for electronic games.
Olson faced charges of residential burglary and theft of property.
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