DNA results returned to Pea Ridge Police from the Arkansas State Crime Lab Monday, Dec. 8, was the final piece of evidence in getting a felony warrant for the arrest of Crystal Dawn (Landrus) Russell, 43, of Pea Ridge, for the June 27 burglary of Starner Tax Group.
The morning of June 27, employees of Starner's Tax arrived to find a broken window, blood on the floor and a mess in the office as well as more than $3,300 missing. Pea Ridge Police evidence officer John Langham gathered evidence, including the blood samples. As part of the investigation, according to police reports, police took voluntary DNA samples from all employees of Starners. Russell was employed at Starner's at that time.
"There was a match found between the blood found at the scene and an oral swab given," according to the report. Russell was picked up Monday, Dec. 8, and interviewed, then booked into the Benton County Jail for felony burglary.
Last week, on Friday, Dec. 5, Russell and her husband, Shawn D. Landrus, 43, were both cited for misdemeanor thefts involving items taken over several months from Walmart Neighborhood Market. According to the report, the suspects appeared to go through the self-checkout line and pay for a small portion of the items taken from the store. One of the incidents happened Nov. 18.
"I'm just really proud of our officers working diligently not only in collecting evidence and making sure it was properly handled ... but also staying with the case until we had an arrest," Lt. Ryan Walker said.
"I'm proud of Officer Langham (evidence tech) for making sure it was all properly handled. We called the State Crime Lab weekly," Walker said. "I've got to hand it to the guy, he's really good at evidence collection. That can make or break a case. We're doing everything we can to improve on that."
"There is a lot of work on the part of law enforcement," Walker said, adding that police officer Brandon Davis spent a lot of time reviewing video just to get his evidence. "It's not as easy as TV makes it out to be. There's a lot of work and time involved."
General News on 12/10/2014