Texarkana man accused of stealing boat motors near Fulton and trading them for meth

A Texarkana, Texas, man is charged in Hempstead County with breaking into a property near Fulton, Arkansas, and stealing two boat motors, then trading them for methamphetamine at a Texarkana, Arkansas, hotel, according to court records.

Thomas Jason Goff, 54, is charged with theft of property and first-degree criminal mischief, both Class C felonies, and breaking or entering, a Class D felony, in Hempstead County Circuit Court case 29CR-26-204. Prosecutors filed the charges Oct. 30.

Game camera photo

According to the probable cause affidavit, the property owner called the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 10. He told a deputy that about 7 p.m. the night before, his game camera sent him a photo of a man in a four-door Jeep Wrangler who had cut the lock and entered his property on River Road in Fulton.

The man kicked in a door and took a Mariner 6-horsepower outboard motor valued at $2,000, the affidavit says. He then went to an aluminum boat and removed a Minn Kota foot-controlled trolling motor valued at $800, causing $1,500 in damage to the boat. The owner told the deputy the man appeared to have rummaged through the boat and may have damaged its Mud Buddy outboard motor, which could cost up to $12,000 to repair or replace.

Investigators identified the Jeep and its Texas license plate and asked area law enforcement to watch for it.

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Traffic stop

On Aug. 10, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stopped a red Jeep with that plate, driven by Goff, according to the affidavit. After being read his rights, Goff “freely admitted” that he and another man had gone onto the Fulton property and stolen the outboard motor, the trolling motor and some fishing poles, the affidavit says.

Goff told the trooper he took the property to a hotel in Texarkana, Arkansas, where the other man lives and traded it for an “eight ball” of methamphetamine, according to the affidavit. An eight ball is about 3.5 grams.

Goff was booked into the Bowie County jail the same day. Bowie County court dockets show a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, 1 to 4 grams, and a misdemeanor possession charge from Aug. 10, both listing DPS as the arresting agency. The felony case was set for arraignment Oct. 22 in the 202nd District Court.

A judge signed the Hempstead County arrest warrant Aug. 10. Hempstead County deputies served it Sept. 30, and Goff was booked into the Hempstead County jail that afternoon. The sheriff’s office roster lists his bond at $15,000 and a court date of Nov. 4.

Charged as a habitual offender

Prosecutors charged Goff as a habitual offender with four or more prior felony convictions. That raises the possible sentence on each Class C count to three to 30 years in prison and on the breaking or entering count to up to 15 years.

In Miller County, Goff pleaded guilty in 2021 to two counts of breaking or entering and a count of theft of property from October 2020 and received three-year prison terms plus suspended sentences, court records show. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to three years in prison.

He also has a pending Miller County case, 46CR-26-286, charging him with possession of methamphetamine or cocaine from April 30. A judge issued a failure-to-appear warrant in that case Sept. 9.

Criminal charges are accusations. Goff is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.