One teen has been arrested and police are looking for a second person in a burglary caught on surveillance video early Thursday at Malco Rogers Towne Cinema, 621 N. 46th St.
Peter Rufus, 18, of 4553 CB Place in Springdale was arrested Thursday in connection with commercial burglary, felony theft by receiving and first-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.
An officer on routine patrol saw a 2009 Dodge Journey parked in a handicapped spot near the building at 3 a.m. Thursday. The officer saw guns inside the vehicle and pulled his weapon when he spotted a man inside, according to police documents.
Rufus was found hiding inside the lobby, according to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest.
Police searched Rufus and found the key fob to a Honda Acura, according to the affidavit. Rufus later told police he had taken it from a vehicle near the Fayetteville mall a few weeks earlier.
Police discovered the SUV had been reported stolen from Springdale and the license plate stolen from a different vehicle. A rifle, shotgun and an AR-15 inside the vehicle had also been reported as stolen, according to the police affidavit.
Under police questioning, Rufus said he had broken into a Jeep in Springdale at 7 p.m. Wednesday and taken latex gloves, a bag and the firearms from it, then stolen the Dodge Journey, then stolen a license plate from a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and a pry bar from inside that vehicle, according to a police affidavit.
Another teen joined him, and they drove around looking for a place to hit and decided to burglarize the theater, Rufus told police. He broke the glass with the pry bar, and they were searching the theater for money when police arrived, according to the police affidavit.
Security footage showed a second man wearing a red jacket and hood who ran from the building while Rufus hid near the doors, according to the affidavit.
Police said Thursday that they are searching for the second person shown on the video feed.
Rufus was being held Thursday in the Benton County jail with no bond set.