Felony charges have been filed in Clark County against thieves with lengthy criminal histories.
Both cases stem from investigations in December 2023 by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Arrests warrants have been issued for the suspects.
Benton woman accused of raking in $19K with stolen credit cards
Cora Catreece Tonihka, 53, whose address is listed as either in Benton or Hot Springs, is charged with three counts of property theft and eight counts each of forgery and fraudulent use of a credit or debit card.
According to court records, Lt. Russell Ursery of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation when the victim contacted law enforcement in mid December 2023 to report that Tonihka had stolen her credit cards and used them to make “large, unauthorized purchases.”
Tonihka allegedly stole two credit cards, using them during a two-day shopping spree in two states and stacking $19,047 to the overall balance. The first day a card was used at a Bryant hardware store and online, and the following day transactions were made in Oklahoma.
Tonihka reportedly bought a 2012 Nissan Juke at an Oklahoma car dealership, then posted a picture on Facebook of her holding the dealership’s sign standing next to the purchased crossover SUV.
Ursery made contact with the dealership and verified the identity of the buyer. The dealership provided law enforcement with a receipt and sales agreement.
It’s noted in the affidavit that Tonihka has a lengthy criminal history for credit card fraud.
She made headlines in 2020 for stealing Christmas decorations from the front porches of several Saline County residents. She was charged in 2021 and 2023 in Garland and Faulkner counties, respectively. An affidavit from the 2021 case says that, while working as a receptionist at a medical facility in Benton, she took a customer’s credit card information over the phone then later used it to make fraudulent purchases. Tonihka was granted a deferred disposition in that case, which was re-opened in light of the new charges.
Career thief caught stashing merch in storm shelter
Ernest Alan Gower, 54, lists a Hot Springs Village address although he was reportedly living in a van in late 2023, when detectives got a whiff of reports of stolen merchandise spanning from Joan to Whelen Springs.
Investigator Nick Funderburk used a confidential informant to gain knowledge about “numerous residential and commercial burglaries,” according to an affidavit. The informant led police to residents who had recently purchased property from Gower.
One person reportedly paid Gower $800 for a large box full of sports memorabilia, including a signed baseball from a World Series game and a signed football “from some big football game,” the affidavit notes. Other items included jewelry and collectors’ cards.
A second individual would tell investigators that he aided Gower in selling building materials to a friend. Gower, he said, was living in a van on his property at the time.
While residing on the property, Gower had reportedly stashed gobs of various building materials — flooring, tile, lighting, plumbing fixtures and ceiling fans, to name some — that originated from Hardman Lumber Co. and were either stolen from the hardware store or from a home construction site in Whelen Springs.
Gower, too, has a lengthy criminal history, with a felony rap sheet dating to 2007 that includes mostly theft-related charges in Clark and Garland counties. Gower is the defendant in six open felony cases.
The latest filing includes two counts of residential burglary and one count of commercial burglary. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence enhancement for Gower’s status as an habitual offender.
According to bookings.com, Gower was booked into the Garland County Detention Center on Feb. 2 for an order to appear in court, but online records from that jail indicate he has since been released.
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