On Thursday, August 23, 2018 a victim contacted the Miller County Sheriff’s Department to report the theft of a boat from a residence on Highway 196 in the Genoa Area.
Miller County Investigators worked with Sgt. Zach White of the Texarkana, Arkansas Police Department who had a similar attempted boat theft earlier in the week.
On August 30, Investigators Sam McJunkins and Thomas Whitt located the stolen boat, that had been submerged in a small pond on Yespe Lane in Miller County. Working in conjunction with personnel from the Booker Bridge and Bright Star Volunteer Fire Departments, the boat was successfully recovered from the pond.
At that time, the first suspect in the case, Bryan Wilson, 28 of Miller County, was arrested and charged with Felony Theft and Criminal Mischief. On September 5, a second suspect, David Fleming, 40 of Miller County, was arrested and charged with the theft of the boat. While conducting that investigation, Miller County Investigators, working in conjunction with Deputy Phillip Ray and Investigator Jesse Grigsby recovered evidence, a chainsaw and drill, associated with a second unreported theft from another victim in Miller County. It was determined that Bryan Wilson was responsible for the unreported theft, and was subsequently charged with Breaking or Entering on 09-06-18. During the course of the ongoing investigation, a third suspect, Seth Shonkwiler, 29 of Miller County, was arrested and charged with Theft By Receiving on 09-10-18 in connection with the boat theft. All three were booked into the Miller County Detention Center on Felony Charges including Theft of Property, Criminal Mischief, and Theft by Receiving.
