A Gassville woman accused of breaking into a residence on Arkansas Highway 5 South in mid-December 2023 appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
Thirty-eight-year-old Kathleen “Michelle” Smith pled guilty to a breaking or entering charge against her and was put on probation for three years.
Victim restitution in the case is to be determined
The break in was reported by a friend of the resident. The friend told investigators the homeowner was away for an extended period, and she had agreed to keep an eye on the property.
The friend said when she arrived to do a check, there was a white 2011 GMC Terrain parked in the driveway which did not belong there. She went into the house and heard someone in the back bedroom. When the intruders realized someone was in the house, they fled through a window in the back bedroom.
In the probable cause affidavit, the intruders were reported to have been a male and female. The homeowner’s friend said both suspects were wearing ski masks.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a safe in the bedroom was found open and appeared to have been gone through. Investigators found a “safe type box” in another bedroom that was also open.
The television sets and other electronic equipment in the residence appeared to all be in place.
The friend told investigators she did not know what, if anything, was missing or whether the safe and “safe type box” had been left open or if the intruders had broken into them.
The friend said the information would have to come from the resident.
The friend was able to provide the license number of the vehicle that was parked in the driveway, and it came back to “Michelle” Smith with an address along Buford Cutoff and a male from Gassville.
In the 2024 case, Smith is charged with residential burglary and fleeing.
In an earlier case, Smith picked up charges in two counties stemming from the theft of a single truck in 2020.
In the initial case, Smith was reported to have taken the truck from a residence located along Buford Cutoff. She drove it to Sevier County in south Arkansas.
CHARGES FILED IN TWO COUNTIES
In the truck theft case, Smith was charged with theft of property in Baxter County and with theft by receiving in Sevier County for having possession of the stolen vehicle.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the initial Baxter County case, Smith is alleged to have left her father’s residence on Buford Cutoff about 1:30 a.m. July 6, 2020, saying she was going out for a walk.
Instead, she is reported to have stolen a 2019 Chevrolet pickup truck from a residence located along Buford Cutoff and driven it to Sevier County in southern Arkansas.
The owner reported his Yamaha Banshee ATV was in the back of the truck.
The vehicle was tracked by GPS and located in Sevier County about 290 miles from Gassville. Smith was located and arrested.
According to court records, Smith had tried to ditch the vehicle, but returned to it when she discovered she had left her wallet and cellphone in the truck.
Victim restitution of almost $9,800 was assessed in the Baxter County case.
PRISON SENTENCE FOR TRUCK THEFT
Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the Sevier County charges. The eight-year sentence she received in Baxter County was to be served concurrently with the longer one, according to court records.
Smith spent very little time in prison. Electronic records show she entered prison July 20, 2021, and was released November 22, 2022 – or a total of one year and four months. Her period of supervised parole was not due to end until July of 2030.
She was released from prison early under the Emergency Powers Act which was enacted as a tool to help manage the population in the chronically overcrowded state prison system.
Under the act, the Division of Corrections may release inmates early if the prison population exceeds 98 percent of capacity.
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