Man arrested for allegedly stealing a mobile phone after selling it at a kiosk

A local man was arrested Thursday on a grand larceny warrant. He is accused of selling a stolen cell phone at an EcoATM kiosk on the day of the theft in April.

Floyd Eugene Emerson Jr., 62, of Meadowlake Drive, was arrested in his home shortly after 2 p.m. There was a warrant out for his arrest for theft over $1,000, which can be punished with up to six years in prison.

Emerson was held on $2,500 bail and was scheduled to appear in Garland County District Court on Friday. A retrial hearing is scheduled for July 5. According to court records, Emerson pleaded no contest on Jan. 29, 2013, and was sentenced to one year in prison. He had committed no other crimes.

According to the probable cause affidavit, on April 29, a woman reported to Hot Springs police that she was at the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, 2705 Central Ave., and sometime between noon and 12:30 p.m., she left her black iPhone 13 Pro Max, valued at $1,099, on a slot machine near the security office and it was stolen by an unknown person.

On May 14, HSPD Detective SC Jones received a notification from LeadsOnline that the cell phone had been sold at the EcoATM kiosk at Kroger, 3341 Central Ave. Jones investigated the case and found that a man named Emerson had sold the phone there for $70 on April 29 at approximately 8:35 p.m.

He was able to retrieve Emerson’s driver’s license information from the EcoATM, which matched the information in Justice Exchange for Emerson. As a result, a warrant was issued for Emerson’s arrest on Tuesday.