Mountain Home, AR. – On May 8, 2024, a West Plains resident was arrested for breaking into a vehicle and stealing property on the passenger seat at a local business in Mountain Home. 31-year-old Jon Dalton Watson is facing charges of breaking and entering, three counts of theft of property (credit/debit card), one count of theft of property of a firearm, and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card or debit card.
According to the probable cause affidavit, at 7:00 a.m. local officers were called to a local business for a theft report. When the officers arrived on the scene they talked to the victim and she stated that she ran into the store for 5 to 10 minutes and her purse and phone were missing when she returned to her vehicle. The purse contained two credit cards, a debit card, and a firearm.
After speaking to the store manager, the officers watched the security footage and witnessed a red Dodge pickup pull up to the victim’s car. Watson exited the pickup, broke into the victim’s car, and grabbed the phone and purse from her passenger seat. Fourteen minutes later, he tried to use one of the stolen debit cards at another local Mountain Home business. He got back into his vehicle and headed east through Bakersfield. The pickup was found abandoned in Howell County. The officers later found the pickup had been stolen in Tecumseh earlier that morning.
Jon Dalton Watson is being held on a bond of $25,000.
