A couple pleaded innocent Thursday in Sebastian County Circuit Court to four counts of theft related to a recent string of residential burglaries, some of which occurred while the residents were away at funerals.

Jeff Paul Mattox, 35, and his wife, Stacy Lynn Mattox, 33, were charged with four counts each of residential burglary and with being habitual criminals, which means they have four or more previous convictions, said Sebastian County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Linda Ward.

As of late Wednesday, the couple remained in the Sebastian County jail in lieu of $100,000 bond each.

Stolen items included jewelry, guns, electronics and athletic equipment valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, police said. In one of the burglaries, a woman reported roughly $10,000 worth of jewelry taken, including antique pieces that she inherited from her mother, who had recently died.

“We live in an unfortunate time anymore,” said Fort Smith detective Jason Scarborough. Many of the victims were “of an older generation,” he said.

The Mattoxes were arrested Nov. 8 after a search of their Hackett home, police said. Authorities seized jewelry, golf clubs and two handguns along with more than $3,000 in cash that police suspect was proceeds from the sale of stolen jewelry. Police obtained records reportedly showing that various jewelry items had been sold recently to businesses that buy gold, silver and other precious metals.

Fort Smith Police Sgt. Daniel Grubbs said the search also produced a copy of the Southwest Times Record with highlighted names of survivors listed in the obituaries of deceased people whose funerals were to be held as early as the next day.

“This type of [method of operation] has been around for years on end,” Grubbs said.

Just two days before the Mattoxes’ arrest, an 82-year-old man reported that more than $30,000 worth of jewelry and a handgun were stolen from his home near Ben Geren Park. The man told police that he andhis wife left for a funeralhome visitation about 5:20 p.m., and that his daughter arrived home about 7:30 p.m.

and found that the door had been kicked in.

“[The man] stated that their names were in the newspaper with the times of the viewing,” the police report said.

The Mattoxes were convicted in 2007 of thefts similar to those in these latestcharges. Ward said the previous cases resulted in the two being convicted of multiple counts of “property-type crime offenses.” Police were assisted in their search of the Mattox home by officers with the Arkansas Department of Probation and Parole.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/15/2012