One Suspect In Custody Following Multi-State School Burglary Spree

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

Email

Submit

← Back

By Marlana Smith

 

  An Arkansas man was taken into custody, following a series of school burglaries reported across Missouri and southwest Iowa.

  Curtis Barton, 40, of Jacksonville, Ark., was arrested by the Arkansas State Police and his home on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, after officers executed a search warrant authorized by Pulaski County, Arkansas courts. The warrant was part of a joint investigation between the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), Wapello County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) in Iowa, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies.

  Curtis Barton is suspected in the burglary of approximately 14 school districts in Missouri and two in Iowa, according to WCSO.

   Among the affected schools was North Shelby, which was burglarized on Saturday, April 26, where money was stolen. According to Shelby County Deputy Sheriff and School Resource Officer Caleb Barton, Curtis Barton, was one of the suspects in that incident.

  Barton is facing multiple felony charges stemming from two separate incidents in Lewis County.

  According to information released by the LCSO, the first occurred on February 1, 2025, when a suspect broke into the MFA Agri-Services Office near La Belle, Missouri, and stole approximately $3,000 in cash and gas cards. The second burglary took place on February 25, 2025, at Highland High School near Ewing, Missouri, where several thousand dollars in cash were reported stolen.

 Chief Deputy Jerrod Eisenberg of the LCSO began collaborating with Deputy Aaron McConnell of the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office after learning of a similar burglary in Iowa. Through extensive technology-based investigative work, Barton was identified as the primary suspect.

 The search of Barton’s Arkansas home yielded evidence believed to tie him to multiple burglaries. Following his arrest, Lewis County Prosecutor Chelsea Fellinger filed formal charges against Barton. These include two counts of burglary in the second degree and stealing in relation to the MFA incident, and one count each of burglary in the first degree, stealing, and first-degree property damage in the Highland High School case.

  Lewis County Associate Judge Corey Moon issued a warrant for Barton’s arrest on April 29 and set bond at $100,000 cash only. Barton, a convicted felon and parolee from Missouri, is currently being held in the Pulaski County Jail pending extradition to Lewis County. He has waived extradition.      

  Agencies assisting in the case include the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control, Arkansas State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

  As of Sunday, May 4, no charges have been filed against Curtis Barton in Shelby County.

  More information will be published once it becomes available.

  All suspects are innocent unless proven guilty in court.