A local man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to felony charges in connection with two burglaries last summer, one in the city and one in the county.
Miguel Angel Estrella, 36, appeared in Garland County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of residential burglary and one count of theft of property more than $1,000 and was sentenced to 15 years on each count, to all run concurrently, with court costs expunged for time served since his last arrest.
Estrella was classified as a habitual offender, having been previously convicted in 1999 for residential burglary, theft of property and felon in possession of a firearm, and in 2007 for first-degree criminal mischief, all in Union County, and was still on probation from a 2011 conviction for theft of property in Garland County.
According to the affidavit for his first arrest, which occurred Jan. 22, a local man reported a burglary to his home in the 1000 block of Shady Grove Road on Aug. 15, 2013, that had occurred sometime between 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in which someone had broken out two rear windows to make entry and then stolen a DVD player, 50-inch television and sound bar, with a total value of $1,170.
Hot Springs police detective S. Lampinen responded to the scene and noted where two rocks had been used to break out the windows so the thief could unlock the door and that there was blood smears on the window blinds.
He was able to collect swabs of blood, which were sent to the state crime lab, and on Jan. 6, 2014, the swabs were matched to Estrella, and a warrant for his arrest was issued on one burglary count and the theft count.
According to the affidavit on the second burglary count, on Aug. 12, 2013, a burglary was reported in the 200 block of Owl Creek Cutoff in Royal where a rock was thrown through a sliding glass door to make entry and numerous items were stolen, including eight firearms, more than 1,400 rounds of ammunition, miscellaneous jewelry and video game systems with a total value of more than $11,000.
Garland County sheriff's investigators collected blood swabs from the window blinds and a closed door which were sent to the state crime lab and on Dec. 18, 2013, the blood was matched through DNA to Estrella.
Estrella was charged with another count of residential burglary on Jan. 24.
• A former Hot Springs man pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge stemming from the theft of a pickup earlier this year and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Robert Glen Burks III, 45, who now lists an Alexander address, pleaded guilty to theft by receiving more than $1,000 while a misdemeanor count of fleeing was withdrawn by prosecutors. His sentence will run concurrent with a five-year sentence he also received for failure to appear and he was ordered to pay $340 in courts.
According to the affidavit, on Feb. 13, shortly before 8 a.m., HSPD Officer T. Threadgill responded to the 500 block of Summer Street where a white male had reportedly left a 2006 Dodge Dakota parked in the middle of the road and then ran north toward Albert Pike.
Threadgill located the pickup's owner on Centerview Street and learned from him he had left the vehicle at his brother's home on Ira Street. He noted his house had been burglarized the day before and his vehicle keys stolen.
HSPD Officer P. Langley arrived to assist and spotted a suspect matching the description of the one who had abandoned the pickup, later identified as Burks, walking north on Summer. As he passed him, the suspect darted around a corner.
He located him again in the 1100 block of West Grand and attempted to make contact but Burks fled into a yard, jumped a fence and ran through an alleyway. He was located hiding behind a residence in the area and taken into custody.
He told police he ran because he believed he had a warrant for his arrest. The witness from earlier was brought to the scene and identified Burks as the one he had seen running away from the abandoned pickup.
Burks was later questioned and claimed he was given the keys to the pickup and dropped off by it on Ira Street by an acquaintance to "test drive it" before possibly purchasing it. He said after driving the pickup away, he had second thoughts because he believed the vehicle might be stolen so he abandoned it and fled.
Burks was arrested on the theft and fleeing charge and later released on $2,500 bond. He failed to appear for his arraignment on April 9 so a bench warrant was issued and he was arrested again May 3 and had been in custody since.
Local on 07/30/2014