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A Hot Springs man who allegedly burglarized two Clark County Dollar General stores was arrested Wednesday while burglarizing a Dollar General store in Oklahoma.
The North 10th Street Dollar General store in Arkadelphia was broken into May 25, before officers were dispatched there in reference to an alarm going off. Upon officers’ arrival, they noticed a hole had been cut in the side of the building and that the office door had been kicked in. Phone wires were disabled, and Sgt. Roy Bethell, criminal investigator for the Arkadelphia Police Department, recovered a shoe print from the office door and collected it as evidence.
Though nothing was taken, investigators reviewed surveillance video which showed a white male crawling on the floor, to the counter and to the office. He wore clothes that concealed his identity and wore a “fanny pack” around his waist. Also on his waist was what appeared to be a two-way radio and a police scanner.
The same night, the Dollar General in Bismarck was broken into. The back door had been pried open, and the alarm wires were disabled. A safe inside was beaten open, and its contents were taken.
Between May 18 and late June, Dollar General stores in Gurdon, Hot Springs, Lonsdale, Mt. Ida, Dardanelle, Atkins, England, Rison, Fordyce, Conway, Fayetteville and Rogers were burglarized. Bethell said the perpetrator in each case had the same modus operandi — entry was made by either prying open a door or cutting a hole in the side of the building; the alarm system was destroyed, the office door was kicked open and the safe was manually pried open. Surveillance video in the Arkadelphia, Dardanell and Atkins showed what appeared to be the same person, wearing the same clothes and carrying the same tool bag.
A police officer in Heavner, Okla., was dispatched by cell phone to the city’s Dollar General store on Monday at 11:55 p.m. An officer arrived two minutes later to notice that the door had been pried open. He made entry and heard sounds in the ceiling that led him to believe there was someone in the store. He went back to the entrance of the store and called for assistance. The Heavner police chief arrived, as well as sheriff’s deputies from Lefore County and officers from the Poteah and Howe police departments. A search of the building revealed the phone wires were cut, the office door was kicked in and the door’s buzzer disabled. Police also found a large bag with a hammer, screwdriver, three different sizes of pry bars, a fanny pack with a flashlight, screwdriver and black glove.
Two hours later the suspect, 38-year-old David Edward Mclaughlin, was found hiding in a small space between the store’s inside and outside walls. Bethell said the man lodged himself between sheet rock and metal and was “covered in insulation.”
A two-way radio and a police scanner were confiscated from Mclaughlin.
He was arrested on one count of commercial burglary and one count of breaking and entering.
Tuesday, Bethell, along with Sgt. Jim Pennington, criminal investigator for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and Arkansas State Police Investigator Lynn Benadict traveled to Heavner to examine the crime scene. Bethell said they found that the scene had matched the local Dollar General stores that were robbed, and the evidence recovered matched what investigators saw on video. Bethell said a shoe print at the location also matched the print he collected in May.
Mclaughlin’s vehicle was recovered a quarter-mile away from the Dollar General, parked in a field. In the car police found change, a GPS system and state maps for Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He is expected to be charged with the burglaries in Arkadelphia and Gurdon.
A Hot Springs man who allegedly burglarized two Clark County Dollar General stores was arrested Wednesday while burglarizing a Dollar General store in Oklahoma.
The North 10th Street Dollar General store in Arkadelphia was broken into May 25, before officers were dispatched there in reference to an alarm going off. Upon officers’ arrival, they noticed a hole had been cut in the side of the building and that the office door had been kicked in. Phone wires were disabled, and Sgt. Roy Bethell, criminal investigator for the Arkadelphia Police Department, recovered a shoe print from the office door and collected it as evidence.
Though nothing was taken, investigators reviewed surveillance video which showed a white male crawling on the floor, to the counter and to the office. He wore clothes that concealed his identity and wore a “fanny pack” around his waist. Also on his waist was what appeared to be a two-way radio and a police scanner.
The same night, the Dollar General in Bismarck was broken into. The back door had been pried open, and the alarm wires were disabled. A safe inside was beaten open, and its contents were taken.
Between May 18 and late June, Dollar General stores in Gurdon, Hot Springs, Lonsdale, Mt. Ida, Dardanelle, Atkins, England, Rison, Fordyce, Conway, Fayetteville and Rogers were burglarized. Bethell said the perpetrator in each case had the same modus operandi — entry was made by either prying open a door or cutting a hole in the side of the building; the alarm system was destroyed, the office door was kicked open and the safe was manually pried open. Surveillance video in the Arkadelphia, Dardanell and Atkins showed what appeared to be the same person, wearing the same clothes and carrying the same tool bag.
A police officer in Heavner, Okla., was dispatched by cell phone to the city’s Dollar General store on Monday at 11:55 p.m. An officer arrived two minutes later to notice that the door had been pried open. He made entry and heard sounds in the ceiling that led him to believe there was someone in the store. He went back to the entrance of the store and called for assistance. The Heavner police chief arrived, as well as sheriff’s deputies from Lefore County and officers from the Poteah and Howe police departments. A search of the building revealed the phone wires were cut, the office door was kicked in and the door’s buzzer disabled. Police also found a large bag with a hammer, screwdriver, three different sizes of pry bars, a fanny pack with a flashlight, screwdriver and black glove.
Two hours later the suspect, 38-year-old David Edward Mclaughlin, was found hiding in a small space between the store’s inside and outside walls. Bethell said the man lodged himself between sheet rock and metal and was “covered in insulation.”
A two-way radio and a police scanner were confiscated from Mclaughlin.
He was arrested on one count of commercial burglary and one count of breaking and entering.
Tuesday, Bethell, along with Sgt. Jim Pennington, criminal investigator for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and Arkansas State Police Investigator Lynn Benadict traveled to Heavner to examine the crime scene. Bethell said they found that the scene had matched the local Dollar General stores that were robbed, and the evidence recovered matched what investigators saw on video. Bethell said a shoe print at the location also matched the print he collected in May.
Mclaughlin’s vehicle was recovered a quarter-mile away from the Dollar General, parked in a field. In the car police found change, a GPS system and state maps for Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He is expected to be charged with the burglaries in Arkadelphia and Gurdon.
