A local man was arrested early Wednesday after Hot Springs police responding to a burglary in progress allegedly caught him inside a residence armed with a knife.
Nicholas Dean Dearmon, 23, who lists a Belvedere Oaks Circle address, was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m. and charged with residential burglary, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Dearmon was being held on a $5,000 bond and is set to appear on Dec. 6 in Garland County District Court. According to court records, he was previously convicted on June 16, 2020, of a felony count of criminal use of a prohibited weapon for having a sawed-off shotgun and sentenced to four years' supervised probation.
According to the probable cause affidavit, HSPD Officer James Yerina responded to a house on Legion Street to a burglary in progress and while en route was told the 911 caller was armed because he believed the intruder had a knife.
Yerina found the side door of the residence open, so he retrieved his patrol rifle and covered both the front and side doors of the residence. After a short time, he saw a man, later identified as Dearmon, exit the home with a black knife in his right hand.
He ordered Dearmon to show his hands and Dearmon immediately dropped the knife on the ground. Yerina waited for backup to arrive and then officers moved in and took Dearmon into custody.
The caller, a resident of the house, then stepped outside and said the owner of the house was still inside asleep. The caller told police he had been inside when he heard the side door "slam shut."
He said he retrieved a firearm for protection and locked himself in another room and noted he thought the intruder had a knife because he "heard it scraping against the wall."
Officers spoke to the homeowner who stated Dearmon had been at the house earlier the day before with another former resident, but he had left and didn't return while the homeowner was still awake.