Fingerprints left at the scene led to the arrest of a Conway man Friday on felony warrants for allegedly stealing his ex-girlfriend's car in Hot Springs and setting it on fire in February.
Bobby Otis King, 47, was taken into custody at the Faulkner County Jail and extradited to Hot Springs on charges of arson, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and theft of property, punishable by up to 10 years. He was later released on $8,500 bond and is set to appear May 8 in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Feb. 9, shortly after 3 a.m., a North Little Rock woman, 36, reported the theft of her blue 2012 Nissan Maxima, valued at $13,000, from the parking lot of Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, 2705 Central Ave. She told Hot Springs police she suspected King, the father of her children, had taken the vehicle.
She noted King drove a red Chrysler 300 and surveillance video at Oaklawn reportedly showed a car matching that description entering the parking lot around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 8. Two unidentified people were seen getting out of the vehicle, approaching the victim's car and getting in it using a keyless entry.
A few minutes later, both the victim's car and the Chrysler were seen pulling out of the parking lot and driving south on Central Avenue. On Feb. 10, Garland County sheriff's deputies located the victim's vehicle in the South Creek Cemetery in Lonsdale and noted there was a strong odor of gasoline inside the vehicle, which had been partially burned.
On Feb. 12, police Detective Les Jessup examined the vehicle and found a gas container in the rear passenger area containing about one pint of gasoline. He was able to lift a fingerprint from the nozzle of the container and sent it to the state crime lab.
On April 12, the crime lab reported the print was entered into the Automatic Fingerprint ID System and matched to King, a previously convicted felon.
The affidavit notes the victim's insurance company determined her vehicle was a total loss due to the fire damage, estimated at $11,120. A warrant for King's arrest was later issued.
Local on 05/01/2018