Police: Grant County man no longer suspected in supply company break-in

Chad Michael Smothers, 38.
Chad Michael Smothers, 38.

UPDATE: 2:40 p.m., Friday

Police say a Grant County man accused in a Tuesday morning burglary is no longer considered a suspect.

Pine Bluff Police Department Officer Richard Wegner said Chad Smothers, 38, visited the detective office Friday morning after seeing news coverage Thursday that named him as a suspect in the break-in.

"After being interviewed, it has been determined that Mr. Smothers is not responsible for the burglary at R & E Supply," Wegner said in a news release. "He has been cleared of this incident and released."

Earlier:

Pine Bluff police are searching for a man who purportedly burglarized a supply store Tuesday.

Police responded about 7 a.m. to a break-in at the R & E Supply Co. at 2514 W. 17th Ave., where the store owner reported seeing the bay door to the business pried open, a Pine Bluff Police Department report states.

A surveillance video showed a white man using a wooden plank to pry open the door around midnight, crawling under the door and later leaving. Chad Smothers, 38, of Grant County was developed as a suspect after a friend of the manager and former neighbor of Smothers said he recognized Smothers in the video.

Pine Bluff Police Department Officer Richard Wegner said while damage to the business was reported in the break-in, nothing appeared to be missing.

Smothers is wanted for commercial burglary and also has outstanding warrants for misdemeanor charges out of Jefferson and Grant County sheriff’s offices, Wegner said.

Smothers is described as standing about 5-foot-9 and weighing about 165 pounds.

Anyone with information on Smothers’ whereabouts is asked to call the detective division at (870) 730-2090 or dispatch at (870) 541-5300.

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