The first of two local men arrested last year after breaking into a house boarded up by Hot Springs police after a raid pleaded guilty Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Andrew Michael Seger, 22, who was set to stand trial Sept. 12, pleaded guilty to a felony count of breaking or entering, reduced from an original charge of residential burglary, and was sentenced to five years' probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $420 in court costs. An additional felony charge of theft of property over $1,000 was withdrawn.
Seger, who lists a Little Mazarn Road address, is currently serving a 10-month sentence on a misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide stemming from a fatality wreck on April 22, 2016, after his original suspended sentence was revoked.
His alleged accomplice in the break-in, Lyle Alan Thresher, 29, of Hot Springs, who is charged with residential burglary and theft of property over $1,000, is set for a disposition hearing on the charges today in circuit court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on July 15, 2018, shortly after 1:30 p.m., Hot Springs police responded to a residence in the 700 block of Woodlawn Avenue regarding a burglary in progress where an SUV was reportedly parked behind the house.
The residence had been boarded up the day before as part of a nuisance abatement case after detectives with the HSPD's special investigations narcotics unit had executed a search warrant on the house the day before and arrested four people on multiple charges after drugs and a stolen boat and motorcycle were located there.
The affidavit notes the windows and doors were covered with plywood and there was a "clearly posted" sign on the front door stating the house was shut down and entry was not permitted.
Officers found a green Chevrolet Tahoe parked behind the residence with all the doors open. They noted it was packed full of household items included four flat-screen televisions, numerous power tools and other electronics.
They then discovered the plywood covering a rear door of the house had been pulled off. They attempted to open the door but found it was locked from the inside. They waited outside and a short time later, Thresher and Seger both emerged from the house and were taken into custody without incident.
It was determined neither of the men had been living there nor did they have any property in the home. The approximate value of the items located in the vehicle was estimated to be more than $1,000 and damage to the plywood was estimated at $50.
Thresher remained in custody, but Seger was released the next day on $8,500 bond and pleaded not guilty to charges on Sept. 24. His case had been continued several times but was finally set for trial Sept. 12.
Local on 07/19/2019