POLICE BEAT: Burglary suspects filling up a U-Haul; man held in theft of $57,000 truck

After their arrest, two Little Rock men told Maumelle police Friday about a robbery scheme that involved housing advertisements, the sale of stolen goods and a U-Haul.

Marqurious D'Jour Mays, 19, was arrested outside a vacant home on Mountain Terrace Circle in Maumelle, according to police reports. Parked in front of the residence was a U-Haul and in the garage sat a washer and dryer, officers said.

Initially, Mays told officers he was purchasing the house and was moving in, but the homeowner said the house was vacant.

Then Mays told officers how he and his brother, Daniel Deon Martin, 20, had seen the vacant house for sale on an app called RedFin and how the listing had several photos of appliances in the home.

So Mays and Martin rented a U-Haul in Little Rock, made the trip to Maumelle and entered through the unlocked front door, the report said. The two men then began loading the appliances into the U-Haul so they could sell them, police reported.

Mays said he already had buyers lined up for the washer and dryer and that a man in Jacksonville had agreed to pay them $600 for the goods.

And reportedly, Mays and Martin had done this before.

Officers said Mays also confessed to a burglary on Cedar Cove in Maumelle in which they broke into a vacant home and stole two televisions and sold them. When officers asked him why they had committed the burglaries, Mays said he wanted to buy a car.

Mays and Martin were arrested and charged with two counts of burglary, three counts of theft of property and two counts of criminal mischief. Both were in the Pulaski County jail in lieu of $5,000 bond as of Monday evening.

Austin man held after truck stolen

An Austin man reportedly stole a $57,000 truck with a pocketknife Monday.

Officers said video surveillance on John Harden Drive in Jacksonville showed Michael Blake Johnson, 33, using a pocketknife to break into a business and steal a 2018 GMC Sierra. Inside of the vehicle was a .40-caliber handgun, according to a police report.

Pulaski County sheriff's deputies tracked the vehicle to Northeastern Street in Jacksonville and arrested Johnson on charges of breaking and entering, theft of property and possession of a firearm by certain persons.

Johnson was in the Pulaski County jail with no bail set as of Monday evening.

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Metro on 08/14/2018

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