A Jonesboro man with a lengthy criminal history has been arrested after he allegedly stole a new 4-wheeler from a Mountain Home area business and then wrecked it and fled the scene. Forty-one-year-old Billy Lee Coram II was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center Wednesday afternoon after being arrested in Craighead County Jan. 26 on a parole violation charge. The Craighead County online jail log shows his address as Panama City, Florida.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, the accident happened Dec. 14. on U.S. Highway 62/412 West, near the west end of the bypass. When deputies and investigators arrived, they noticed the vehicle’s ignition had been broken, but the rest of the vehicle looked to be in pristine condition, indicating the vehicle was new. A cell phone was found at the scene along with a debit card with Coram’s name on it and a gas can.
Investigators contacted a local dealer who sells the brand of 4-wheeler involved in the crash. They checked their inventory and verified one was missing valued at just over $24,000.
Video footage showed a person matching Coram’s description recently purchasing gas and a gas can like the one found at the crash scene.
The day after the crash, a female who lives near Big Creek Golf Course, contacted the sheriff’s office saying she had been approached by a man who had been involved in an accident and wanted to use her phone.
She told investigators, she had gone outside in the morning and the man, described as having short hair and tattoos on his neck, was in her yard. He said his name was Billy. He said he had a 4-wheeler wreck and asked her not to call the cops. He repeatedly told her he would not hurt her.
He used the woman’s phone to call someone to pick him up. She told Coram how to get to the golf course and he left.
Coram is facing felony charges of theft of property and criminal mischief. His bond is set at $25,000.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI