Local man sentenced to five years for burglary
A formerly homeless man arrested last year for burglarizing a house was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty in Garland County Circuit Court.
Jason Torrell Finney, 37, who now lists a Hansford Street address, pleaded guilty to a felony count of residential burglary, while an additional felony charge of theft of property more than $1,000 was withdrawn. His sentence is to run concurrently with a sentence of five years on a felony charge of failure to appear after his initial arrest.
He was initially arrested Dec. 8, 2014, and later released on $5,000 bond. After he failed to make a court appearance, he was arrested again on May 29, 2015, and had remained in custody since then. He was also ordered to pay $340 in court costs, but will be given credit for time served.
According to the affidavit, Hot Springs police Officers Smith and Lewis responded to a residence in the 700 block of Summer Street after a neighbor called 911 to report a burglary in progress involving an unknown black male.
The officers approached the residence and saw a man, later identified as Finney, climbing out a broken front window of the residence carrying a rubber container. They ordered him to show his hands and he put the container back inside and then came out and was taken into custody without incident.
The officers contacted the homeowner, 51, who confirmed no one was supposed to be inside the residence at that time and that he didn’t know Finney.
• A local woman arrested for residential burglary last year was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge Wednesday in circuit court.
Jan Angelia Kerner, 53, pleaded guilty to theft of property more than $1,000 with her sentence to run concurrently with a three-year sentence for failure to appear. Kerner, who was previously convicted of a felony in 1988 and served one year in prison, was also ordered to pay $420 in court costs.
According to the affidavit, on Oct. 19, 2014, around 7:15 p.m., Garland County sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Collier responded to a disturbance at 220 Burchwood Bay Road and spoke to the male victim, 31, who lives at Lot M, who stated he had left his home earlier and locked the doors.
He returned later and found his home had been broken into and several items were missing, including a microwave, television, lamps, clothing, and DVDs.
The victim stated he suspected his neighbor, identified as Kerner, was the one who did it. The victim’s next door neighbor said he saw Kerner bringing two bags and some laundry inside his residence at Lot L as he was getting ready to take a nap and just assumed she came to do laundry.
The victim states Kerner and his neighbor’s mother, who lives with him, were friends and “always together.”
Collier spoke to the neighbor’s mother, who stated, “I came home and there was all kinds of belongings, totes, clothes and shoes in my living room.” She said she asked her son about it, and he told her Kerner had brought the items there.
The mother said she called Kerner who initially stated she “went shopping.” When asked if she got the items from a dumpster, Kerner reportedly said, “No. I don’t want to tell you.”
She finally admitted she “got it next door.” At that point, the victim pulled up and the mother told Kerner, “You have to give that stuff back.”
Another female witness then confronted Kerner about some Halloween decorations that had been stolen, and a brief altercation ensued during which Kerner claimed the other woman slapped her “upside the head.”
After talking to the victim and witnesses, Collier went to Kerner’s residence and asked her what was going on. Kerner denied taking anything. When told about the witness statements, she continued to deny the allegations so she was finally taken into custody. All the victim’s belongings were recovered except for the microwave.
• A local man was sentenced to six years in prison, with all of the sentence suspended, after pleading guilty Monday in circuit court to a felony drug charge.
Chris Allen Ennis, 31, who lists an address of 1007 Garland St., pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, and was also fined $4,000 and ordered to pay $295 in court costs.
Ennis was previously convicted in 2005 in Garland County of forgery and placed on probation and in 2006 in Oregon on a charge of assault and was sentenced to four years and six months in the Oregon Department of Corrections.
According to the affidavit, on April 2, 2015, Hot Springs police Officer T. Threadgill, who was working off-duty at Oaklawn Park, 2705 Central Ave., when game room security advised him there was a white male attempting to use a false underage ID card.
He made contact with the male, later identified as Ennis, and he told Threadgill he must have accidentally picked up his brother’s wallet instead of his own. He claimed his brother had a different last name than him. The ID Ennis attempted to use belonged to a 19-year-old male.
Threadgill ran a check on Ennis’ name and discovered he had warrant for third-degree battery through the HSPD, so he took him into custody. During a search of his person, the officer located a plastic baggie of marijuana, approximately 0.12 ounce, and two small baggies of what later tested positive for meth, approximately 1.7 grams.
A further computer check revealed that the owner of the ID Ennis had tried to use had reported a break-in on March 31 in which his wallet and ID were stolen.