A number of criminal cases have been opened on J.D. Comstock in four Arkansas Counties since 2016.
According to probable cause affidavits filed in his cases, Comstock has been known to flee the scene of one crime, and commit another one by stealing a vehicle to facilitate his escape
He appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday and Deputy Public Defender James Wallace told the court that there was a possibility a plea in Comstock’s case might be worked out and asked that he be put on the docket for Feb. 6.
The 38-year-old Comstock was brought from the East Arkansas Regional Unit of the state prison system in Brickeys where he is serving time on an earlier conviction.
Comstock’s latest charges in Baxter County include residential burglary, theft of property, breaking or entering, escaping from law enforcement and fleeing.
NOT GUILTY PLEA
Those charges stem from a June break-in at a residence and detached workshop on property located along Baxter County Road 137 in Henderson.
The items found to be missing from the home and the shop building on the property – included fishing tackle, clothing, a weed eater, a cellphone, chain saws and an ATV winch.
Comstock is also charged with stealing a number of vehicles, escaping from custody and fleeing. After fleeing arrest in Baxter County, he was eventually caught in Kansas on a stolen motorcycle.
Earlier, he entered a not guilty plea to his new charges.
Comstock appears not to have a long-term address. Among those listed on court documents include Mountain Home, Mountain View and Little Rock.
HENDERSON AREA HOME ROBBED
When the owners of the Henderson residence returned home after going swimming in Norfork Lake, they reported finding their residence had been broken into, drawers pulled open and items moved out of their normal place.
STOLEN EARPHONES TRACKED
A pair of Air Pod Max earphones was also found to be missing. Investigators were informed the earphones had the capability to be tracked with locations shown on a cellphone.
The tracker showed that since the earphones were taken from the Henderson residence, they had been at a business in Mountain Home, a liquor store on State Highway 5 South and an apartment complex along Glenbriar Drive in Mountain Home.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the final location where the earphones “pinged” was at a residence along State Highway 5 South.
A search warrant was obtained for the home and served on June 20.
After making contact with two young females at the residence, the officers found Comstock in the garage rolled up in a blanket.
Law officers noticed an ATV winch in the back seat of a black Saturn automobile parked in the driveway. The winch fit the description of one taken in the burglary at Henderson.
Comstock was asked about the vehicle and he claimed that a friend had loaned it to him.
One of the occupants of the residence on Highway 5 South told investigators that it was Comstock who had given the allegedly stolen earphones to her daughter.
Officers were also shown a number of items in the bed of a pickup truck belonging to Comstock that were determined to have come from the break-in at Henderson.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
During questioning, Comstock is reported to have complained that the hand restraints he was wearing were too tight.
As a sheriff’s deputy attempted to reposition the restraints, Comstock took the opportunity to flee.
He is reported to have run down a hill toward State Highway 5 South with the deputy in pursuit.
Comstock fell down in the gravel driveway momentarily, regained his footing, and ran across the highway and into woods bordering the roadway.
The deputy also fell in approximately the same spot and sustained injuries to his arms, shoulders and knees to an extent he had to be treated at Baxter Health.
CANINE TRACKING TEAM RESPONDS
A number of law enforcement personnel were dispatched to the scene to hunt for Comstock.
A canine tracking team from the North Central Unit of the state prison system at Calico Rock was brought in to aid in the manhunt.
The team traced Comstock to a home on Old Tracy Ferry Road. Immediately before the team arrived at that location, the owner of the residence reported the theft of a 2007 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck.
FROM ARKANSAS TO KANSAS
Comstock’s escape came to an end when he crashed a stolen motorcycle in Chautauqua County, Kansas following a high-speed pursuit covering several counties.
He apparently stole a number of vehicles during his flight. It is unknown from the public record currently available exactly how many vehicles Comstock might have taken during his flight to Kansas and while in that state.
MANY CHARGES AND LOCATIONS
Through the years, Comstock has been charged with multiple counts of escape, residential burglary, breaking or entering, theft of property, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia.
The crimes have taken place in a number of Arkansas counties.
Comstock has had criminal cases opened against him in Baxter, Benton, Fulton and Faulkner Counties. In some of those counties, multiple cases have been opened, including Baxter where four criminal cases have been filed.
POST OFFICE ONCE TARGET
In addition to homes, Comstock was also charged with stealing items from other structures, including a mail cart from the Brockwell Post Office in early December 2017.
OPEN FULTON COUNTY CASE
In the active Fulton County criminal case Comstock is alleged to have stolen a Jeep Liberty Sport from a hay barn located along Edgewater Trail.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Comstock was fleeing from an unspecified incident in Horseshoe Bend at the time of the vehicle was taken.
There were pictures of a male walking up to the barn, going in and the Jeep backing out.
Fulton County investigators sent images of the person taking the vehicle from the barn in Fulton County to a Horseshoe Bend police officer who identified the person as Comstock.
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