Arkansas man pleads to stealing firearm in 2024

On Feb. 19, Brandon Terrell, of Mountain Home, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to stealing a firearm. He was sentenced to SIS, 5 years probation and ordered to pay a restitution of $11,450. An SIS, or suspended imposition of sentence, means Terrell is placed on probation for a period of time. If he follows the terms of probation, at the end of the probation period the court will close the case and the criminal conviction will not appear on his records. However, if Terrell violates the probation, a full sentence may be invoked.

The guilty plea is in connection with the Aug. 15, 2024, theft of firearms from a Caulfield home.

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by then Ozark County Sgt. Seth Miller, at 9:03 a.m. Aug. 15, the Ozark County dispatch office received a report of a gun theft in Caulfield. 

Miller arrived on scene and spoke with the victims, who said they went into their basement bedroom closet where they keep their firearms and ammunition and noticed that most of the ammo was missing. They said the firearms were hidden in a bedroom closet behind a false wall. The spot included rifles positioned between the wall studs with wood paneling screwed over top to conceal the firearms. They said they also had 10-15 Glock pistols in cases that were taken as well, along with about $2,000 in ammunition.

Miller noted that it sounded like the guns were very well concealed and asked if there was anyone who knew the firearms were being stored there. The pair said that a woman and her boyfriend, who they identified as Terrell, had lived with them for three months before moving to the house next to them. They said the pair stayed in the room where the firearms were hidden and had been present one day when the guns were removed for cleaning purposes. The victims said Terrell had commented on how good of a hiding place it was and said no one would ever find the guns there unless they knew they were there. Both victims said no one else knew about the hiding spot.

Miller asked where they purchased the guns, and they said they had purchased the firearms through private individuals, with all of the Glock pistols purchased from a single individual, who is now deceased. 

Miller contacted the Baxter County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Department and asked investigators there if they could run a search of Terrell through LeadsOnline.com, an investigative technology company that helps officers in various ways. They agreed, and their search turned up a pawn store receipt of two Glock pistols, a G48 and G47, that had been pawned on June 17 and June 19, respectively. 

Miller then contacted the ATF in Springfield and asked if they could run both serial numbers for the Glock pistols that were pawned. The ATF agent stated that the G48 pistol was sold on June 21, 2022, by Washington Avenue Pawn in West Plains to the now deceased individual that the two victims in the case said the guns had been purchased from.