The state/region in brief

18 burglaries linked to man, police say

A Pine Bluff man has been arrested in the burglaries of at least 18 homes over the past four months, the Jefferson County sheriff’s office reported Thursday.

David Stacker, 21, purportedly confessed to the burglaries after being arrested Tuesday. After patrols had been increased in the area of the break-ins, deputies spotted Stacker in a suspicious vehicle. The vehicle had been recorded by surveillance cameras at one of the burglarized homes.

Stacker was charged with 10 counts of residential burglary. He was being held in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bond late Thursday.

Investigators also identified another suspect in the burglaries, Darius Burnett, 19, who had been convicted on unrelated charges and was awaiting transport to the Arkansas Department of Correction. In an interview with investigators, Burnett “implicated himself” in the burglaries, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

Burnett is expected to be charged with “numerous counts” of residential burglary, the release states.

Many items taken in the burglaries have been sold, according to the sheriff’s office, although investigators are still working to identify and recover stolen property.

  • ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

2nd skunk in NLR positive for rabies

A second skunk in North Little Rock has tested positive for rabies, a city news release said Thursday.

The dead skunk was found near the Burns Park Golf Course clubhouse Tuesday and was sent to the state Department of Health for rabies testing. The state agency notified North Little Rock Animal Control on Thursday that the skunk tested positive.

No known contact occurred between the skunk and any humans or pets, but caution around wildlife is encouraged, the news release states. City policy is to notify the public of any positive rabies tests.

A live skunk, found March 30 in the city’s Levy area, also tested positive for rabies.

  • ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTEPanel wants details in chief’s dismissal

The Arkansas Claims Commission on Thursday told an attorney for the state that it was “handicapped” by not receiving settlement information in a case involving the former superintendent of the Pulaski County Special School District.

Commissioner BillLancaster told Assistant Attorney General Scott Richardson that the commission wanted information from any settlements that the family of Charles Hopson signed that related to his termination at the district. The commission learned of a Dec. 31 settlement with the district in federal court after a March 7 article appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Hopson was dismissed after the state took over the district in June 2011, but his family argued his contract included a buyout agreement that was not honored.

Rickey Hicks, an attorney for the family, said the settlements included different parties - one between the family and the district and the other between the family and the state - and that the state’s $25,000 settlement was considerably less than the $75,000 one with the district.

He said no one tried to “conceal” anything from the commission.

  • ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTETreasurer accused

of embezzlement

TEXARKANA - The treasurer in Lafayette County in southwest Arkansas has been indicted for purportedly embezzling public money.

U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge said Keesha Rose, 36, appeared before a magistrate judge Thursday after a grand jury indictment charged her Jan. 29.

The FBI and the Arkansas State Police also took part in the investigation.

Rose faces two counts of theft from a program receiving federal funds in excess of at least $5,000.

Rose serves as both county treasurer and tax collector.

Online court documents hadn’t been posted, so it was unclear whether Rose has an attorney yet. Eldridge said a state legislative audit revealed problems that prompted the investigation.

  • THE ASSOCIATED PRESSGirl sells diamond found at state park

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma City girl has sold a 3.85-carat diamond she found at an Arkansas park for $20,000.

Tana Clymer told television station KWTV that she plans to use the money from the recent sale of the yellow diamond to help pay for college.

Tana found the diamond last October while hunting for gems with her family at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. She said she couldn’t believe her good luck and asked her father if she was dreaming.

The yellow diamond the teen found is teardropshaped and about the size of a jellybean.

  • THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 04/12/2014

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