Records show that 35-year-old Stephan Richard Whaples was picked up in Christian County, Missouri on a parole violation warrant from Baxter County and returned here. He was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center July 15.
Whaples was the subject of four manhunts in less than a year in 2011-2012. The manhunts have involved officers from multiple agencies, roadblocks, tracking dogs and the Baxter County Sheriffs Office helicopter.
He has been found hiding in various places, including a camper and trailer and was once arrested after being found asleep on the porch of a residence along Tracy Ferry Road.
His first criminal case was filed in October 2011 when Whaples was 22-years-old. Since then, he has been charged with criminal trespass, fleeing, theft of property, refusal to submit to arrest, breaking or entering, commercial burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm, criminal mischief, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
At one point, he was charged with stealing all-terrain vehicles to sell so he could pay fines levied in earlier cases.
Whaples name was mentioned in a recent incident report from the Baxter County Sheriffs Office in which two people were arrested for allegedly taking items out of a storage unit damaged in the late May tornado. The storage units were located along State Highway 5 South.
Investigators say a third person was involved and they suspect it might have been Whaples.
A female arrested at the scene had cellphones in her backpack. The screensavers on the phones were alleged to have featured a photo of Whaples and the woman.
At one point, a person in the Briarcliff area called to report a suspicious male in her yard with a blanket covering his head and body. The person was not around when deputies arrived on scene and a K-9 tracking team from the Calico Rock Unit of the state prison system was brought in to assist in locating the suspect.
The dogs traced the person to a residence and the trail went cold. The structure had been damaged in the recent tornado and both back doors were open.
In a bedroom located in the basement a foam mattress pad, pillow and sheets were located, indicating that someone might have been staying in the home after the storm.
The two people charged in the storage unit incident – 31-year-old Victoria Watts of Calico Rock and 36-year-old Morgan Miller who shows his address as Oroville, California – have entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them. Whaples has not yet been charged with involvement in the incident.
Another incident report involving Whaples was issued late last month stemming from a fraudulent state income tax refund. Through the years, Whaples has been assessed fines, fees and restitution in various crimes.
As the law permits, the Baxter County Sheriffs Office requested that Whaples state income tax refund be applied to what he owes.
The state provided the county $750 representing the refund. But a problem popped up at the state level. According to the incident report, the state has informed the sheriffs office the Whaples return was fraudulent.
The state wanted the refund money returned, but it had already been applied toward the amount Whaples owes the county and individuals who were supposed to be paid victim restitution.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said his office is working with the state on the issue and that he was not aware of the final results of those conversations.
I do know one thing — theyre not getting their money from us because its already been applied and restitution sent out to victims, the sheriff said.
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