An Arkansas teenager is accused of stealing a van from a church in Izard County with an accomplice before driving it to a rural area of Baxter County and burglarizing a home, according to authorities.
Dalton Michael Pflaumer, 18, of Elizabeth is charged with three counts of theft of property, one count of residential burglary, one count of breaking or entering and one county of theft by receiving, the Baxter County sheriff's office said in a news release.
Pflaumer is also accused of stealing a 2001 Volvo V10 after taking items from the residence on Diamond Bay Road. That stolen vehicle was found during a vehicle pursuit Monday by Sharp County authorities and was traced back to owners living in the St. Louis area.
The owners told the sheriff's office that they had the vehicle parked at their vacation home on Diamond Bay Road and had not been home since July 5.
Corp. Kristofer Savino with the sheriff's office went to the house later Monday, where he learned that a handgun and shotgun were also stolen by "squatters" who had been staying at the residence for a period of time, according to the the news release.
A suspect arrested after the vehicle pursuit in Sharp County told authorities that he and another person, later identified as Pflaumer, had stolen a van from First Baptist Church in Horseshoe Bend and traveled to the Hand Cove area, where they hid it in a heavily wooded area about 1 mile from the Diamond Bay Road residence.
Pflaumer and the suspect went their separate ways in the Rockwell area shortly after burglarizing the residence and leaving in the stolen Volvo, the suspect told the sheriff's office.
The stolen church van was found using a sheriff's office helicopter that, through dense foliage, was able to locate the vehicle and tow it away as evidence.
Pflaumer is also linked to a theft case Sunday involving stolen speakers, binoculars and fishing equipment from a boat dock near Baxter County Road 863, according to authorities. His cellphone was found on one of the boats.
Pflaumer remained at the Baxter County jail as of Wednesday evening in lieu of $50,000 bond, records show.
The unidentified suspect is expected to face the same charges, according to the sheriff's office.