James P. Lally

     An evidentiary DNA sample that was submitted to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory has resulted in the arrest of a Mountain Home man, 28 year old JAMES PATRICK LALLY, for on a felony charge of Theft of Property related to the theft of a motor vehicle.

     On February 12, 2011, a man reported to the Sheriff’s Office that his 1992 Dodge truck, valued at $15,000, had been stolen from the parking lot of the Atrium at 1046 Cranfield Road.  Later the same day, the Mountain Home Police Department was called to the Cooper Park to investigate a parked vehicle that had the driver’s side window broken out.  Officers quickly determined this to be the previously reported stolen vehicle from Cranfield Road.  Investigators gathered evidence from the truck, including samples of a reddish color substance thought to be blood on the driver’s seat.  These samples were sent to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory for comparative analysis.

     Video evidence from the Atrium helped investigators to develop a suspect in the vehicle theft.  This suspect, JAMES LALLY, denied involvement in the theft, but he did consensually provide a sample of his own DNA to investigators.  His sample was also sent to the crime laboratory and a match was confirmed between LALLY’s DNA and the DNA from the blood sample previously submitted.

     Based upon this development, investigators procured a warrant for LALLY’s arrest for one count of Theft of Property – Class C Felony, and he was picked up this morning at a location in Mountain Home.  JAMES PATRICK LALLY was incarcerated in the Baxter County Detention Center with bond set at $20,000.  He is scheduled to appear in Circuit Court on December 22^nd.

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff