Rain: 7am to 7am: 0.31″ Month: 4.59″ Year: 35.11″ Recorded temps: High: 71 Low: 66
A Cotter volunteer fireman accused of stealing items from a home while fighting a blaze at the residence appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
Nineteen-year-old William Hartwell Cooke is alleged to have taken two guns and about $560 in cash while in the residence along Bayless Court in Gassville. A number of fire departments answered the call.
Cooke entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Cooke concealed the two guns in his turnout gear.
In addition, when residents of the home returned to begin cleanup, a female noticed her wallet was not in her purse where she had left it and that $60 was missing.
A male noticed that two guns were missing along with an envelope containing $500 in cash.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Cooke tried to sell the weapons to a gun shop in Gassville about two weeks after the June 24 fire.
Staff at the gun shop suspected the guns were stolen and notified law enforcement. During questioning, Cooke is reported to have admitted taking the guns during the fire and walking them to a fire truck.
Investigators reviewed footage from surveillance cameras at the Cotter Fire Department and reported seeing Cooke unload the guns from one of the trucks.
Cooke is facing two felony counts of theft of a firearm and a misdemeanor theft charge stemming from the cash that was reported taken from the burning residence.
He is also charged with two counts of theft by receiving for his attempt to sell the two stolen guns.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI