BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — On Nov. 11, firefighters in Benton County discovered a Dodge brush fire truck from inside the firehouse on E. Highway 94 in Monte Ne had been stolen. Later that morning, the Benton County Sheriff's Office found the truck in Springdale outside the home of the man who allegedly stole it and drove home the night before.
According to the arrest affidavit, the man made a stop to fill up at a gas station in Rogers on his way, where he "accidentally turned on the emergency lights."
Detectives said the Dodge truck was parked inside the fire department in Monte Ne overnight on Nov. 10. Since the fire department doesn't have full-time staff who stay and sleep at the firehouse, no one was there when the truck was stolen. The firehouse did, however, have video surveillance of the theft, officials said.
When investigators arrived at where the stolen fire truck was discovered in Springdale by police, they began processing the scene and collecting fingerprints. The affidavit of the arrest said while processing the vehicle, the man they believed was in the firehouse's surveillance video was across the street talking with Springdale officers.
The man identified himself as 19-year-old David Perkins, according to officials. Perkins agreed to talk with him and admitted to taking the fire truck the night before.
Perkins told the detective he was at a party down the street from the firehouse in Monte Ne and that he didn't know anyone there besides people he said he'd just met on Dickson Street earlier in the night.
According to his statement taken by Benton County detectives, a fight started during the party, and the homeowner wanted everyone to leave. He told investigators as he was leaving, someone went outside and "fired a gun into the air," the affidavit said.
Perkins goes on to tell investigators he then started walking to Rogers when another gunshot was allegedly fired in the air from a car. That's when Perkins said he saw the firehouse and planned to charge his phone— which was dead— and call his mom for a ride. The detective said Perkins found the door to the firehouse unlocked, walked in, and found the truck inside with the keys in the truck. He told the detective he then decided to drive home.
"[Perkins] said he was not intoxicated by any means when he drove the fire truck," the detective said.
When asked if he stopped anywhere on his way home, Perkins told the detective he stopped at a gas station in Rogers, where he "accidentally turned on the emergency lights."
The detective said he was informed that while Perkins was driving the fire truck in Rogers he hit another vehicle and left the scene.
Perkins was arrested for commercial burglary and theft of property. As of Tuesday morning, he remains in the Benton County jail. But he is facing other legal troubles.
"He does have an out-of-state hold for another warrant. That will be up to those authorities to determine whether they will extradite him to Texas, where [I believe he faces] those particular issues. Our case will continue to go forward no matter what," said Benton County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Sexton.
The fire truck was valued at $150,000 by Assistant Fire Chief Dakota Medina who said the truck is used for harder-to-reach fires and medical emergencies.
“My heart sank. This is a brand new brush truck for this department ... It also carries all of our life-saving equipment," said Medina.
Sexton said situations like these can greatly impact smaller rural fire departments.
"It does affect those smaller departments to access citizens who have emergency needs or have need the help of our fire departments in those kind of more isolated areas of the county," said Sexton.
