Tennessee man charged with breaking into local donut shop to steal drinks

A Tennessee man who was allegedly intoxicated was arrested Saturday morning on felony charges after allegedly breaking down the door of a local donut shop to steal drinks.

Craig Louis Ledbetter, 57, who lists an address in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, was taken into custody shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday and charged with one count of commercial burglary, punishable by sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and first misdemeanor charges. -degree of criminal mischief and public drunkenness.

Ledbetter was being held on $5,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in Garland County District Court on Monday.

According to the probable cause affidavit, at approximately 8:45 a.m. Saturday, Hot Springs Police Sgt. Joey Williams and Constable William Stockwell responded to Golf Links Shell, 2224 Malvern Ave., regarding a man harassing customers.

The caller also noted that the man may have been involved in a burglary at Sugar Mama’s Daylight Donuts, 2220 Malvern, which happened shortly before 11.30pm on Friday. The man was described as wearing tan pants, a gray shirt and jacket that matched the description of the man seen in security video of the burglary.

Stockwell made contact with a man, later identified as Ledbetter, who was standing in the parking lot and matched the suspect’s description.

He noted that Ledbetter smelled of intoxicants from his breath, had slurred speech, and was unsteady on his feet. He was then taken into custody for public intoxication and allegedly admitted to drinking all night from Friday evening to Saturday morning.

Williams reviewed Sugar Mama’s video and reportedly confirmed that Ledbetter was seen entering the business. He was reportedly seen throwing two concrete blocks through the glass front door of the building to enter.

Red Bull milk and drinks were missing and damage to the door was estimated at $400. When Williams asked Ledbetter about the incident, he reportedly said he had been drinking and “didn’t remember what he did last night”.