Springdale man guilty in 2011 jewelry store heist

 Bart Woodard Bart Woodard Bart Woodard
Bart Woodard Bart Woodard Bart Woodard

FAYETTEVILLE -- A Lincoln man who robbed a Springdale jewelry store four years ago pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court on Wednesday to aggravated robbery.

Bart Wayne Woodard, 50, also pleaded guilty to theft of leased property, hot checks, theft, theft by receiving, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, fleeing and failure to appear.

Judge Mark Lindsay accepted the plea bargain and sentenced Woodard to 60 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Two men robbed Mancia Jewelry, 120 N. Thompson St., on May 5, 2011, but left most of the stolen loot in the parking lot.

One man was pushing another man seated in a wheelchair. They entered the store, which has a locked door that must be opened for each customer, by offering to sell gold jewelry. The jewelry was later determined to have been stolen.

After selling $400 worth of jewelry and buying earrings for $40, the man in the wheelchair jumped up and pulled out a stun gun, hitting co-owner Daisy Mancia in the arm with one of the probes.

He then chased Mancia around the store, brandishing a pistol while the second man cleaned out a display case, according to police.

The men abandoned the wheelchair in the parking lot and fled in a white, extended cab Nissan pickup.

Using a photo lineup, Mancia identified Woodard as the man who attacked her, according to the affidavit.

Police also found six fingerprints at the scene that matched Woodard's.

The theft of leased property charges related to Woodard leasing two skid-steer loaders in 2010 and never returning them, according to Terra Stephenson, deputy prosecuting attorney.

Woodard was captured in Oklahoma by U.S. Marshals and brought back to Northwest Arkansas, Stephenson said.

NW News on 09/17/2015

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