Man arrested for theft, forgery
Nearly three months after police received a report of checks stolen and used to purchase vehicles, the suspect was arrested.
Robert Allen Nelson, 43, of 18 Cross Hill Road, Bella Vista, was booked into Benton County Jail Thursday, Nov. 14, in connection with a felony parole violation, three misdemeanor counts of theft of property from Pea Ridge, two counts of felony forgery and two counts of felony theft of property in Bentonville.
A Pea Ridge business reported stolen checks Aug. 27, said Tim Ledbetter, Pea Ridge police chief. The business owner, Vickie Hilburn Slaughter, reported to police that a vehicle dealership called her to tell her the check used to purchase a vehicle was returned for insufficient funds. She told police she did not purchase a vehicle. Police searched for, but were unable to locate, Nelson at that time, believing he had left the area. Warrants were issued and entered into Arkansas Crime Information Center on Nelson, Ledbetter said.
“A deputy from Boone County notified us that they had arrested Nelson on our charges and they had charges pending,” Ledbetter said, adding that a similar incident had happened in Harrison.
Three checks, taken from CVT Towing, were used to buy a truck at Bob Moore Ford in Oklahoma City for $54,100, and two trucks at Nunnally Chevrolet in Bentonville for $46,122 and $36,127, Ledbetter said.
Nelson had access to the busi- ness’ office, and one of the trucks he bought was left in the parking lot of the business in Pea Ridge, Ledbetter said, of the August incident. At that time, Nelson was reportedly living with a woman in Pea Ridge on Patterson Road.
Additional charges will be filed in Boone County, said Tim Roberson, chief deputy at the Boone County Sheriff ’s Office.
Nelson purchased a $37,000 truck at Clay Maxey Ford in Harrison on Sunday, but the check was fraudulent, Roberson said.
The vehicle Nelson purchased in Bentonville was traded to a car lot in Missouri before Nelson bought the truck in Harrison, according to a Boone County news release.
The Harrison dealer reported the theft Monday, Nov. 11. Nelson was found Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Gainesville, Mo.
The Ozark County, Mo., Sheriff ’s Office arrested Nelson at a motel in connection with Bentonville warrants and an Arkansas probation violation.
The investigation is continuing.
Nelson was being held in jail Tuesday on $51,000 bond.
Editor’s note: Amye Buckle, abuckley@nwaonline.com, contributed to this report.