West Plains, MO. – Three people have been charged with the theft of a motorcycle in Howell County.
The three suspects are Zachary Daily, age 31, Bert Lee Stone, age 43, and Mikayla Hewitt, age 22, and are charged with 2nd-degree burglary and stealing a motor vehicle.
According to the probable cause statement, on September 7, 2023, an unnamed person reported to the West Plains Police Department that he had knowledge of Daily and “Mr. Arizona”, an alias used by Stone, had asked for assistance with stealing a motorcycle. The person stated there was an abandoned house on State Route ZZ where a law enforcement officer lives or had lived that was the target location and the vehicle and a tire-changing machine may have already been stolen.
Upon investigation, police contacted the officer, a trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who said he owned a motorcycle that was on the property. A deputy of the Howell County Sheriff’s Office was allowed to inspect the property and found the items had been stolen.
On September 8th, Daily had been arrested for a DWI by the Sheriff’s Office and was questioned by investigators on the theft. He claimed that he was asked by Stone to pick up a motorcycle and take it to a residence in Oregon County. He also identified Stone as “Mr. Arizona” due to Stone having lived in Arizona and having Arizona license plates on his vehicle.
Stone was detained later that day by the West Plains Police and questioned. He said that Daily and Hewitt had taken the bike and that he wasn’t with them. Stone denied having taken the bike and claimed his phone would show on geofencing due to the woman borrowing it. With the assistance of the Oregon County Sheriff’s Office, Stone then led law enforcement to the location of the motorcycle, and the stolen items were recovered.
Daily and Hewitt were arrested on September 10, 2023, and told authorities they had assisted in taking the motorcycle but claimed they didn’t know the motorcycle was stolen. Investigators remained suspicious of the pair after they “initially lied about their involvement in the case.”
A warrant for the arrest of Daily and Hewitt was issued this week on the above charges with a bond of $10,000 cash or corporate surety. A court summons was issued for Stone.
