A Magnolia, Ark. man is in custodoy for allegedly vandalizing the Arkansas Welcome Center on Highway 71 in Miller County.
On Monday Deputy Jeremy Cornett was dispatched to the Arkansas Welcome Center on a report that in the early morning hours of April 30, unknown subjects had vandalized the center, causing damage to plumbing, sewer, electronics, and landscaping.
After receiving the report, Miller County Investigator Sam McJunkins began reviewing surveillance video from the Welcome Center.
The video captured a red Chevrolet pickup and two unidentified white males at the center. No license plate number was available on the video, and investigator McJunkins issued an agency wide inquiry regarding the truck.
Miller County Corporal Phillip Hardeman and Deputy Byron Bryant responded to Investigator McJunkins, recalling that they had encountered that truck on April 1 at a church on Hwy. 82 in Miller County. They provided Investigator McJunkins with the LPN on the vehicle.
After coordinating with the Magnolia, Arkansas Police Department, Investigator McJunkins was able to positively identify the driver of the truck who was captured on the surveillance video as 36-year-old Dustin Wade Otwell of Magnolia, Arkansas.
A Felony Warrant for Criminal Mischief was issued for Otwell, and he was arrested in Columbia County, Arkansas on Thursday. Otwell was transferred to the Miller County Detention Center where he is being held on the felony charge. The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges are pending.
