Three charged after series of Baxter County-area marina thefts

BAXTER COUNTY, Ark. – Officials with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office said three men are in custody after a series of marina thefts on July 12.

Officials said 19-year-old Lukas Trey Helm of Olathe, Kansas, 20-year-old Dane Phillip Christensen of Lenexa, Kansas and 19-year-old Macgyver Michael Sabin of Gardner, Kansas, are facing felony charges of breaking and entering, theft of property and criminal trespass in connection with the marina thefts.

Baxter County officials said the trio is suspected of stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of fishing and boating gear from seven victims after burglarizing three different marinas, which was captured on security cameras.

Also from a video, officials said investigators learned one of the three had purchased a bottle of water using a credit card. They were then able to trace the credit card through the issuing bank and find the cardholder, they said.

Additional evidence came from a national database that showed some of the missing equipment had been pawned in Independence, Missouri. The same pawnshop was also speaking with investigators from Douglas County, Kansas’s sheriff’s office, leading to the two sheriff’s departments contacting each other.

Officials said investigators had arrested two people in Douglas County for the thefts and found most of the stolen property from Baxter County during the arrest.

The three men are currently free on a $15,000 bond, each. They are set for court appearances on Aug. 25.