The Case of the ‘Accidental Detective’

The Case of the ‘Accidental Detective’

Sheriff’s Deputy in the right place at the right time to nab wanted man

news@theeveningtimes.com

Two men are under arrest for a farm shop break-in thanks to an “accidental” detective with the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office who cracked the case.

Phillip Dean Maxwell, 55, of Tyronza, and Timothy Jason Bouler, 38, of Memphis, were charged Wednesday with theft of property over $25,000 for allegedly stealing several all terrain vehicles and a trailer from a farm shop at Highway 50 and Smokey Alley Road at Wilkerson Farms.

Crittenden County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to the shop on December 12 and were informed that three four-wheelers, a side UTV, and a 20-foot trailer valued at over $25,000 had been stolen.

Lt. Darrell Prewitt was on duty when the call came in and drove by a residence in the Heifer area where officers had been looking for a suspect wanted for stealing an SUV in Cross County.

“There was a guy who was wanted that lived around Heafer that was supposed to have had a stolen Trailblazer at his house,” said Sheriff Mike Allen. “He just wanted to drive by that guy’s house to see if he was there and whether he was involved in this theft.”

As he approached the residence, a vehicle took off from the driveway at a high rate of speed, fishtailing down the road and running a stop sign.

Prewitt gave chase and after a short pursuit, the suspect stopped the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot.

After running through a muddy field, Prewitt was able to catch the suspect.

“Prewitt ended up running about a mile in that muddy field in his shiny shoes,” Allen said. “He probably picked up about 20 pounds of gumbo mud, but caught him.”

The suspect, as it turns out, was wanted in Marked Tree for failure to appear and arrested on the Marked Tree charges and fleeing and driving charges.

Allen said the man was questioned at the Sheriff’s Department and admitted to the break-in at the farm shop.

Prewitt spent the next two days on muddy roads and located all of the stolen property, and also was able to arrest the second suspect, who was wanted out of Cross County for the stolen Trail Blazer.

Allen praised his “accidental” detective for quickly solving the case, noting that he was only days away from returning to his normal assignment.

Prewitt has been a K-9 handler for the Sheriff’s Office and a supervisor in the Patrol Division, but had been on light duty the past three months with the detective

division after an on the job injury. “I’m very proud of his drive and dedication to his

profession,” Allen said.

“He was helping the Highway Police with his K-9 dog search a car hauler that ended up in a large drug seizure. He stepped off the car hauler and broke his foot. So the doctor put him on light duty and the only thing we had was some office work in the detective division. He was scheduled to go back to normal duty on Friday but was still working for us in the detective division in plainclothes. Who knows? He may even become a new full time detective.”

By Mark Randall