A volunteer firefighter for the Cotter Fire Department has been arrested after he admits he took two guns from a house while fighting a fire last month. Nineteen-year-old William Hartwell Cooke allegedly put the guns in his turnouts while helping extinguish the blaze and then tried to sell them at a gun shop a couple of weeks later. Cooke is also charged for cash that went missing during the fire.
According to court documents in the case, the house fire was at a residence on Bayless Court in Gassville in the early morning hours of June 24. Six departments fought the blaze, including Cotter. A large part of the home was saved.
When the homeowners returned to their house to begin clean up, the female noticed her wallet was not in her purse where she had left it and $60 cash was missing. The male noticed an envelope with $500 cash in it was gone from his dresser. The man also noticed two long guns were missing.
Last Friday, Cooke allegedly tried to sell the guns at a gun shop in Gassville. The staff believed the guns were stolen and called law enforcement. During questioning, Cooke admitted he took the guns during the fire, putting them in his turnouts and walking them to the fire truck. Law enforcement obtained surveillance video from the Cotter fire house showing Cooke unloading the guns from the fire truck.
Cooke is facing two felony counts of theft of a firearm and a misdemeanor theft charge for the cash that was taken. He also is facing two felony counts of theft by receiving for trying to sell the stolen items. His bond is set at $30,000.
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