Man found guilty in storage unit robberies
A Miller County, Ark., jury sentenced a Texarkana man to a maximum 10-year prison sentence this week for his participation in the pilfering of units in a local storage facility.
David Brandon Looney, 36, and several others were charged in connection with the theft of furniture, sports memorabilia and irreplaceable family keepsakes stolen over several days in November 2016 from C&C Mini-Storage in Texarkana, Ark. One of Looney’s co-defendants, Curtis Edward Bates, 32, pleaded guilty in February and received a 30-year term. Bates faced an enhanced punishment range because of prior felony convictions.
Looney had no prior felony record. At trial he maintained that he was duped
into helping Bates, Robert White and Dannie Tackett steal truckloads of prop- erty from storage units. The jury that considered Looney’s case couldn’t come to a unanimous verdict on three counts of breaking and entering but did agree that Looney knew at some point that he was involved in illegal conduct and willingly participated. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Black said the jury returned in less than 15 minutes with the maximum sentence after hearing evidence in the punishment phase.
Black said that victims of the theft testified about a piano which had been passed down in the family for years which they believe wound up in a garbage dump after the thieves abandoned it at a different storage facility in Ashdown.
Sports memorabilia including baseball cards signed by legends Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were never recovered.
Among the stolen antiques, valuable baseball cards, and furniture were baby clothes and shoes worn by children and cherished by their parents.
Black said the victims scoured resale shops, flea markets and the like for their missing property but were able only to recover a couple of small items.
Rex and Robin Murdock, whose loss included sports memorabilia and family heirlooms, filed a civil suit against Looney, Bates, White, Tackett and Juanita Edgar in Miller County Circuit Court in December 2016.
The suit accuses Looney, Bates, White and Tackett of stealing property which left the victims with financial and emotional loss.
Edgar was included in the suit because she owned a vehicle that was used during the commission of the crimes.
Last year the Murdocks were awarded a default judgment against Edgar, Looney and White, the defendants they were able to locate.
The court awarded them $126,069 in actual damages and awarded $63,034 in punitive damages against each defendant.
Charges remain pending against White and Tackett.
“The victims are satisfied with what the jury did,” Black said. “Two down and two to go.”