The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 37-year-old Christopher Steven Alsup of Mountain Home after deputies pursued him Sunday morning, May 16th, on a stolen Bobcat tractor. The incident began at 5:16 AM when a Jailer/Matron on her way to work coming down State Highway 5 North came across a Bobcat tractor/loader being driven down the middle of the highway. She noticed that the driver appeared to be struggling in the operation of the equipment, and she reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office Shift Commander. The Jailer/Matron turned around to check again on the driver. She found the Bobcat on the side of the road, still running, but the man who had been driving it was no longer with it.
Deputies responded to the area and found the Bobcat, with driver on board, again coming down the state highway heading South in the 9000 block. When deputies attempted to make contact and stop the driver, he took the Bobcat off road and took off through the woods. An Arkansas State Police officer used a remote controlled drone to search the area for the Bobcat. When it was spotted, deputies converged on the area and found the driver passed out. The driver was identified as Alsup. He was taken into custody and escorted out of the woods at approximately 8:00 AM. Alsup told deputies he was intoxicated on Xanax and had taken the Bobcat for a joyride.
Deputies re-traced the route that ALSUP had taken on the Bobcat. They found that it had been stolen off a contractor’s trailer that had been parked inside a secured and fenced area of an electric company substation.
Alsup was taken to the Baxter County Detention Center. He was preliminarily booked on charges of Burglary, Breaking or Entering, Theft of Property, Criminal Mischief, and Driving While Suspended. The investigation is continuing. It is expected that ALSUP will be charged with additional offenses involving other similar crimes that are currently under investigation.
He remains in custody at the Detention Center and is expected to appear in Circuit Court on May 20th.
