DUSTIN COUCH

 A Melbourne man who purchased a vehicle from Truck County in Melbourne in June and wrote checks on a closed account has been arrested and charged with theft.  Dustin Couch, age 24 of Melbourne purchased the vehicle, a 2000 Toyota valued at $3,500 from the Melbourne car dealership and, according to Sheriff Tate Lawrence, apparently left the area for some time. Couch was arrested August 9 and remains in the Izard County Detention Facility in lieu of $1,200 cash bond and a probation parole no bond hold along with holds from Independence and Conway counties.

In an unrelated matter, Zachary Alan Kautz was arrested on contempt of court charges for having failed to show for court imposed community service. District Judge David E. Miller ordered that Kautz be held without bond until the next scheduled district court date.

Following an August 7 traffic stop on Dolph Road for speeding, Edwin Carl Bartlett, age 64 of Calico Rock was charged with possession of an instrument of crime. A glass smoking pipe with burnt residue was removed from Bartlett’s pocket.  Bartlett remains in the Izard County Detention Facility in lieu of $1,120 bond with a court date of August 20.

Randell Keith Kurtley, age 45 of Melbourne was arrested August 7 on two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Thinking that Kurtley was another individual who had an absconder warrant, a traffic stop followed near First National Bank of Izard County by an agent of the 16th Judicial District Task Force, a probation/parole officer and sheriff’s deputies. A total of 31 pills, 17 of which were identified as Acetaminophen with codeine and 14 identified as Clonazepam, were confiscated. Kurtly posted bond the following day in the amount of $2,500, released from the Izard County Detention Facility and given an August 20 court date.

News Release, For Immediate Release, August 10, 2015, POC: Sheriff Tate Lawrence, 8703684203