By Ray King
A $50,000 bond was set Monday for a Pine Bluff man accused of breaking into an apartment Friday and taking a flat-screen television.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Michael Beard, 48, with residential burglary and theft of property.
Reading from an affidavit by Detective Michael Merritt, Deputy Prosecutor Lisa McGriff said on Friday, Officer Ryan Edwards was dispatched to 1320 S. Maple St., in response to a report of a burglary in progress of Apartment 7.
McGriff said Edwards went back to the apartment which was being processed by a crime scene technician and spoke to a witness who said they saw Beard come out of the apartment with a 43-inch flat screen television that he dropped when he saw police.
Beard has previous convictions for capital murder in 1996 and burglary but is not currently on parole or probation.
He was told to come back to court Sept. 5.
