A Fayetteville man is behind bars after police say his Special Olympics coach caught him stealing a gun from a local apartment.
Nikita Henderson, 23, was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of residential burglary, theft of property and criminal mischief. He remained Friday in the Washington County Detention Center on $3,500 bond, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Fayetteville police said Henderson’s Special Olympics coach saw the suspect coming out of another man’s apartment unit Thursday on Jewell Road. The coach had helped Henderson while the suspect was a client at Arkansas Support Network, an organization that helps people with disabilities.
The man living at the apartment unit then came home to find his window screen ripped out and a handgun missing from underneath his bed, according to a preliminary report from the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.
The report states Henderson has had “multiple encounters” with Fayetteville officers, including when he was arrested Wednesday in a separate disorderly conduct case. He was released the same day in that case on $1,835 bond, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Henderson’s caretaker brought the man to police, after which the suspect was arrested.
