Man charged with store burglary, domestic assault

An Ozark County man with multiple prior felony convictions is facing enhanced charges after authorities say he burglarized a local business, stole nearly $1,500 in cash and assaulted his girlfriend. 

Milton O’Niell Hetrick, 37, of the Timber Knob area, is charged as a prior and persistent offender with burglary, stealing and domestic assault in connection with the investigation.

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin, on June 3, officers investigated a reported burglary and theft at a business in Ozark County. 

The report says that a woman told the officers that Hetrick admitted to burglarizing the business and stealing the money, which he later displayed and claimed responsibility for the theft. 

The woman, who lives with Hetrick and is in a romantic relationship with him, said he assaulted her during an argument, and visible injuries were observed and documented. 

Law enforcement later made contact with the suspect and observed a quantity of US currency in his possession of $1,456. 

Although the court document does not name the business involved, the dispatch report from the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department shows that a representative from the State Line Package and Tobacco Co. reported that a boyfriend of an employee stole the store’s opening drawer and prior day’s deposit that same day. 

In this case, Hetrick has been charged as a prior and persistent offender, a designation that increases the range of punishment if convicted, due to his criminal history and multiple prior felony convictions.

They include these convictions in Okaloosa County, Florida: possession of cocaine, burglary of an unoccupied structure, damage to property/criminal mischief over $1,000 and possessing burglary tools with intent to use in 2007; and two counts of committing battery with a prior battery conviction on record in 2012.