Monday, April 12, 2010

Mountain Home Man Being Held On Suspicion of Murder:


A man from Mountain Home, Arkansas is being held in the Marion County, Arkansas jail on suspicion of a Rae Valley man's murder.

Authorities found 38 year-old David Searles dead in his bed last Thursday (04-08-10) after the sheriff's office received a call asking them to check on the man who was last heard from on Easter Sunday. Marion County Sheriff Roger Vickers says that it appeared that Searles had been dead for a few days.

Vickers says a deputy had to use a 4-wheel drive vehicle to reach Searles' home that is in a remote area of the county. An autopsy performed at the Arkansas State Crime Lab indicated that the cause of Searles' death was a bullet wound to the top of the man's head.

A BOLO was put out for the victims vehicle, a white Dodge truck. Within minutes authorities located the truck in Mountain Home and, took Justin King, 21, who was driving the vehicle into custody. Authorities say King allegedly had the victim's credit cards and some of his personal papers in his possession when he was apprehended. Authorities recovered a handgun that King allegedly pawned at a Mountain Home business and have sent it to the state crime lab for ballistics testing to confirm whether or not it is the murder weapon.

A search warrant has been executed for the truck and Searles' residence.

King is being held without bond.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office is being assisted in the investigation by the Arkansas State Police, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. National Park Service also assisted, Vickers said.

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