Christopher Ryan Collins

     A 34 year old rural Mountain Home man, CHRISTOPHER RYAN COLLINS, has been arrested and is being charged with numerous crimes in connection with reported break-ins at three separate homes and the theft of cash, credit cards, and other items.

     On September 30th, the Sheriff’s Office took a report from a residence on Baxter CR 782 that approximately $13,000 in cash was missing from their home.  At the time of the initial report, the cash was the only property realized to be missing.  On November 2, 2017, the victims were contacted by their credit card company regarding suspicious transactions at numerous locations.  It was then realized that the victim’s credit card had also been stolen in the burglary.  The stolen credit card had been used in seven different locations in Mountain Home, one location in Flippin, and at three locations in Branson, Missouri for purchases totaling $2,964.72.

     Sheriff’s Investigators went to the locations where the stolen card had been used and gathered information from store employees including sales receipts, descriptions of items purchased, dates and times, and the description of the suspect, as well as video surveillance where available.  At one of the locations in Mountain Home, the sales clerk had obtained a telephone number from the suspect.  The suspect gave a phone number that indicated his residence to be on Baxter CR 782, directly across the street from the victim’s residence.  The photo of the suspect who was developed, CHRISTOPHER COLLINS, was compared with video surveillance footage and found to be the same person.

     A search warrant was obtained by Investigators for COLLINS’ address on Baxter CR 782, and it was served yesterday morning, November 7th. CHRISTOPHER COLLINS was found inside the residence and taken into custody.  Numerous items were found in the home that had been obtained via the stolen credit card.  Also found in the residence was a chain saw and a miter saw.  These two saws were identified by a previous report as having been stolen from yet another separate home on Baxter CR 782 on October 4, 2017.  Along with the stolen property, a number of articles of drug paraphernalia were found and seized.

     CHRISTOPHER COLLINS had also been identified as the suspect in a third case that was reported on October 25, 2017.  He was alleged to have entered into a home on Cranfield Road, uninvited, and used the computer in the home while nobody was there.  The home belongs to one of COLLINS’ former employers.

     CHRISTOPHER RYAN COLLINS was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center and is being charged as follows in these three cases:

Residential Burglary (2 counts) – Felonies
Breaking or Entering (2 counts) – Felonies
Forgery in the Second Degree (12 counts) – Felonies
Fraudulent Use of Credit Card (12 counts) – Felonies
Theft of Property – Felony
Theft of Property (2 counts) – Misdemeanors
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Misdemeanor
Criminal Mischief in the First Degree – Misdemeanor
Criminal Trespass – Misdemeanor

     COLLINS is being held in custody in lieu of $45,000 bond and will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court to answer on November 30th.

     Information available indicates that COLLINS was already currently out of custody on bond awaiting trial in Newton County for Residential Burglary, Internet Stalking of a Child, and Sexual Assault in the 4th Degree. 

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff