Estes Charged with Stealing Wallet from Purse of Courthouse Employee

A Smithville woman, who allegedly stole a wallet from the purse of a courthouse employee, has been charged with theft.
Lieutenant Steven Leffew of the Smithville Police Department says 37 year old Patsy Estes of 621 Crestlawn Street was arrested on Tuesday, November 17th. According to the report, on that day an officer was called to the DeKalb County Courthouse in reference to a complaint of theft. When he got to County Mayor Mike Foster’s office, Foster and others were watching surveillance video of the building. The suspect, Estes, could be seen on the tape wandering all over the building going in and out of several offices. She was observed going into Foster’s office, staying a short period of time then leaving in a hurry. The officer spoke with Janie Knowles who works in Mr. Foster’s office and who was present at the time of the theft. Ms Knowles said that she was working at her desk when she heard a noise from in front of her. She looked up and didn’t see anyone at first but then noticed a person’s head as she looked between her computer monitor and the monitor on the next desk. Ms. Knowles said she saw a woman who was squatted in front of her desk near a small table and on that table was a purse, belonging to Ponzell Usrey, another employee of the office. The woman stood up, identified herself as Kim Hale, and said that she was looking for James Hayes Ms. Knowles said that she recognized the woman and knew and that her name wasn’t Kim Hale. After the woman left the office, Ms. Knowles noticed the purse on the table and alerted Ms. Usrey, who checked the purse and discovered that her wallet was missing. She called the Sheriff’s Department. Ms. Knowles said that she later remembered the woman’s name was Patsy Estes, not Kim Hale.
Meanwhile, 34 year old Jo Ann Rutland of 446 The Loop was cited on Monday, November 16th for shoplifting at the Dollar General Store. According to the citation, Manager Tammy Caughy confronted Rutland at the counter and asked her what was going on. Rutland pulled the shoe inserts from her purse and said she was getting them for the girl with her. Rutland also had some energy shots and a baby pillow. The total value of the merchandise was $30.50. Rutland is to appear in General Sessions court on the citation on December 9th.
28 year old Kenneth Lee Bain of 1530 Old West Point Road was arrested on Tuesday, November 17th for theft of property and public intoxication. Patrolman Matt Holmes reports that he responded to Wal-Mart on that day where he met with the manager who told him that they have had an open investigation on one of their employees for sometime. Officer Holmes was told that Bain, the Wal-Mart employee in question, had shown up to work and appeared to be intoxicated. Holmes was also told that Bain had been seen putting a TV in a shopping cart and putting a jacket over the top to conceal it. The manager said that as he was walking up to the front doors of the store, Bain exited, pushing a shopping cart with a jacket inside. The manager said he lifted up the jacket and saw a TV belonging to Wal-Mart concealed underneath. The merchandise was recovered and returned to the store. While speaking to Bain, Officer Holmes determined that he was intoxicated on some kind of medication. Bain was unsteady on his feet and he had slurred speech. Bain said he had taken multiple types of medication before coming to and while at work including Hydrocodone. Bain was placed under arrest and transported to the Smithville Police Department where he verbally admitted to stealing the TV and jacket and added that was the only time he had ever stolen anything from Wal-Mart.
24 year old Christopher Brian Deal of Flower Mound, Texas was arrested for DUI on Saturday, November 14th. According to the report, the arresting officer observed a dark vehicle traveling west on Highway 70 at a high rate of speed. He verified with his radar that the driver was locked in at 111 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone. The driver continued to travel west on Highway 70 weaving in and out of traffic. The officer made contact with the vehicle at the intersection of Highway 70 and Short Mountain Highway and placed Deal, the driver, under arrest for reckless driving. While speaking to him, the officer noticed that Deal had an odor of an alcoholic beverage about his breath and he admitted to drinking a couple of beers. There were no field sobriety tests administered due to the location of the stop and because Deal was under arrest for reckless driving but Deal did submit to a breath test. The results were .094. Deal was issued a citation for speeding and reckless driving and arrested for driving under the influence.
Meanwhile, anyone having any information on the following offenses is asked to please contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210 or the Tip Line at 464-6046.
On Monday, November 16th, between the hours of 5:00 p.m and 7:00 p.m. a bike was stolen from Wagner Towing. Rick Wagoner said he went home for lunch. The bike was chained to a pole near the roadway. When he returned to put the bike up, it was gone.
On Thursday, November 19th, Officer Scott Davis was dispatched to 456 West Broad Street (City Cafe) in reference to a robbery. Upon arrival, Officer Davis made contact with the complainant Ms. Tracy Howell who stated that she had just opened the business and put the money bag down on the counter and went to unlock the game room when possibly a white male, 5’10”, wearing a black jacket and jeans pulled a knife and said “give me your money” or words to that effect. Ms. Howell stated that the suspect grabbed the money bag and fled out the door in an unknown direction of flight. At the time of this report, the clerk did not know how much money was taken during the robbery.
Any information received that will help the Smithville Police Department solve any criminal offense will be greatly appreciated. All information is confidential.
Lieutenant Leffew, Officer in Charge of the Police Department, would like to remind the public that “We do have a Tip Line, 464-6046 that you can call with any information you have on a crime or suspicious activity. All information will be strictly kept confidential and all callers will remain anonymous. We want your information, not your name.”