A Mountain Home man entered a guilty plea to charges against him during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday (February 10) and was given a three-year prison sentence.
In one case, 33-year-old Kory Adam Charlton was accused of loading a cart with merchandise at a local business, disabling an emergency exit alarm and leaving the store without making any attempt to pay for the items.
His activities were captured by security cameras.
At the time, Charlton was a fugitive. A warrant had been issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court where he was facing charges that he had violated the terms and conditions of his probation handed down in an earlier case.
PROBATION REVOCATION SOUGHT
The revocation petition was filed against Charlton in a 2020 case in which he was reported to have admitted that he stole a 105-gallon fuel tank and a microwave oven from an outbuilding behind the now closed Sears store in late March 2020.
Surveillance camera footage showed a newer model Jeep Cherokee drive up to the back of the business at about 2:30 a.m. A male exited the vehicle, entered the outbuilding and removed the tank, placing it in the back of the jeep.
The footage was shared with a number of people and they were reported to have “positively” identified Charlton as the person shown in the pictures.
Both items were located and returned to the business owner, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Charlton was put on probation for 48 months in the theft case which was later extended to 72 months.
In the petition to revoke, Charlton was accused of violating the terms and conditions of his probation in a number of ways, including possession of methamphetamine, fleeing, failing to report for drug testing, admitting he had used marijuana and methamphetamine, associating with an individual who was engaged in criminal activity, failing to show up for office visits, failure to show proof of employment and failing to pay court ordered fines and fees.
In addition to the revocation of his probation, Charlton also has two open criminal cases.
FAKE MARRIAGE LICENSE
In a case filed in mid-September last year, Charlton is charged with faking a Missouri marriage license so he could visit his girlfriend in jail.
Rules and regulations at the detention center would not allow Charlton to visit the woman as her boyfriend but he could do so if they were a married couple.
On June 7, a person came to the Baxter County Sheriff’s office and reported that Charlton had allegedly forged her signature on the fraudulent marriage certificate so he could claim 21-year-old Cheriakee Breona Schroeder as his wife.
Jail records do show that on May 17, Charlton presented the fake license showing he had married Schroeder on May 11.
Investigators interviewed Schroeder after the fake license had been reported. She is reported to have denied being married to Charlton and said the marriage license was fake.
The marriage license was not detected as fake on the day Charlton was allowed to visit. The investigation did not begin until after the forgery was reported in early June.
THE RAMADA INN ARREST
Charlton is also facing charges in a drug case opened on him in late March last year.
Law officers responded to a room at the Ramada Inn after being told Charlton was staying there.
At the time, Charlton was on felony probation and had been placed on absconder status.
Charlton had an active waiver on file permitting law officers to search his person and property without a warrant.
During his arrest at the Ramada Inn, according to the probable cause affidavit, officers knocked on the door of the room and announced their presence for about 15 minutes with no answer other than a dog barking inside the room.
Officers were given a master key by the owner of the business and told them they had permission to kick the door down if that became necessary.
When the door was unlocked, it was found that a chain and “swing lock” still prevented entry.
After the key was used in the door, officers reported hearing a female voice say from just behind the door to wait “just a second.”
The female was identified as Schroeder. Charlton was found under the bed covers. When Charlton was told he was being arrested for probation violations, he began to argue and physically resist.
He was eventually brought under control and cuffed.
The officers found a substance testing positive for methamphetamine and items of paraphernalia used to ingest the drug.
Court records show that at the time of the arrest, Schroeder listed Charltons address in Mountain Home as her own.
He has had several criminal cases opened on him through the years, including leading officer on a high-speed motorcycle chase through Mountain home and stealing items from a wrecker belonging to a local towing company.
In his new cases and the case in which the revocation petition was filed, Charlton has been charged with theft of property, breaking or entering, possessing methamphetamine and paraphernalia to ingest the drug, obstructing government operations and forgery.
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