By Ray King
Several reports of parked vehicles being broken into in White Hall Tuesday resulted In the arrest of a man identified from security video as having been involved.
Efrem Neely Jr., 21, was reportedly the driver of a blue Kia that was seen by the owner of one of the vehicles that was broken into as the Kia left the scene.
White Hall Police Investigator Clayton Cantrell reported that incident occurred at a business in the 7400 block of Dollarway Road. The owner of the vehicle told police she heard her car alarm go off and found a window broken and her purse missing. Two $50 gift cards for a nail salon were found on the ground near the vehicle and the owner said the cards were not hers.
A second vehicle was broken into at the White Hall Community Center and video showed a blue Kia driven by a man later identified as Neely pull into the parking lot and a passenger in the vehicle get out and break the window of a parked car. A third vehicle was broken into at a business in the 8600 block of Dollarway Road and the owner of that vehicle reported that two $50 nail salon gift cards had been taken.
Cantrell reported that the blue Kia matched the description of a car linked to break-ins of several vehicles on the parking lot of a Pine Bluff business. Using security video, officers were able to get a license plate number from the blue Kia and learned that it was registered to Neely’s father and he told police his son had been driving the car. A BOLO (Be On The Lookout) was put out and the car was located back on the parking lot of the business in Pine Bluff.
After obtaining a search warrant, police searched the Kia and found a small floor jack that had glass shards on it and broken glass.
After a court hearing Friday, Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney released Neely on his own recognizance after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge him with three counts of breaking or entering and two counts of theft of property.
