A man from Nixa is being held in Baxter County for the theft of a Caterpillar Excavator. 33 year old Christopher Wayne Rhoades is charged with felony defrauding a secured creditor and felony theft of property. Sheriff’s Investigators obtained the warrant after looking into a complaint filed by a resident of Baxter County on March 30, 2018. The complainant said he had bought a 305E Caterpillar Excavator from CHRISTOPHER RHOADES, who had it listed for sale on Craigslist, on November 26, 2017 for $32,800. On March 25, 2018, a repossession company contacted the complainant indicating they were planning to repossess and pick up the equipment for Caterpillar Company, which had a lien on the equipment that was unpaid and delinquent. There is a GPS tracking device on the equipment that allowed its location to be determined by the lienholder.
At the time the complainant purchased the equipment from CHRISTOPHER RHOADES, the complainant asked RHOADES if there was a lien on the equipment and he replied that there was not. According to Caterpillar Company, the equipment was purchased from a dealer in Little Rock, Arkansas. There was a lien remaining on the equipment in the amount of $36,254.96. The last payment RHOADES made on the equipment was in September, 2017. Two later payments were made, but the checks were returned due to insufficient funds.
A warrant for the arrest of CHRISTOPHER RHOADES was obtained. He was arrested in Fulton County, Arkansas on Thursday, May 17th. He was subsequently picked up and taken to the Baxter County Detention Center where he was booked on charges of: