A convicted felon was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to burglarizing a house in Hot Springs Village last year.
Jeremiah James Blair, 37, who refused to give an address when he was arrested on Sept. 4, 2017, pleaded guilty to residential burglary, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was sentenced to 10 years, with court costs expunged for time served since his arrest.
Blair was previously convicted of residential burglary on Aug. 5, 2014, in Garland County and sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus an additional five years suspended, and was on parole at the time of his arrest on the new charge. He was also convicted on Aug. 2, 2013, in Montgomery County for possession of a controlled substance and failure to appear and sentenced to three years probation.
According to the probable cause affidavit on the burglary, on Aug. 31, 2017, Hot Springs Village police Sgt. Lori Sill responded to a residence on Casino Circle in reference to a burglary and spoke to the homeowner, 60, who had returned home and found her house ransacked.
The back entrance had been forced open using a pry bar and numerous items were missing. While Sill was processing the spare bedroom, she found a backpack which the homeowner said didn't belong to her. Inside the bag was a crowbar and several items from the residence. The items were returned to the victim and the crowbar was sent to the state crime lab.
On Sept. 4, 2017, Sill was advised Blair had been arrested driving a stolen vehicle and inside the vehicle there were women's clothing, jewelry and many other items that appeared to be stolen. Investigators spoke to Blair's girlfriend who stated he was the one responsible for several burglaries in Hot Springs Village.
On Sept. 6, Sill got consent to search the stolen vehicle from the owner and found it was "packed to the top in every spot but the driver's seat" with items, including several that matched the description of items taken from the Casino Circle residence. Other items were found to be taken in other burglaries reported in the village.
Local on 09/26/2018