PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. (KTHV) - Pawn shops are having a difficult time slowing down thieves. On Monday night, Goodride Auto Care in North Little Rock had more than $25,000 worth of goods stolen, and Arch Street Pawn Shop in Pulaski County says they've been experiencing robbers as well.

"Me and my brother have been switching off staking out up here," said shop owner Brett Carter.

In the last 12 days, the shop has been robbed four times, losing goods to thieves that have tried pawning the tires off to other shops as used goods.

"It's so hard to tell if they're stolen or not," Carter continued, referring to the tires. "[Thieves] are stealing wheels and tires because they know there's no [serial] numbers on them, so there's no way you can say they're yours unless you have absolute proof, which is so hard to find."

JEFFERON COUNTY, Ark. (KTHV) - The Arkansas Department of Corrections is now offering a reward for information leading to the capture of an escaped convict.

On Thursday, July 24, ADC spokesperson Shea Wilson said there is now $4,000 in reward money available for information leading to Timothy Buffington's capture and arrest. Buffington walked away from work detail at the Pine Bluff Unit about a month ago.

He is said to have shot his ex-wife Rhonda Combs in the head with a rifle while she sat in her boyfriend's truck in Booneville in July of 1998. According to Wilson, he was admitted to ADC on March 12, 1999. Combs and Buffington had been in a custody dispute over their two children.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - A backlog of state inmates is jamming county jails across Arkansas, meaning only the most serious offenders are spending time behind bars.

The Pulaski County jail closed on April 29th, and since then it has taken in only the most serious violent criminals and repeat offenders. Pulaski County prosecutor Larry Jegley calls it "catch-and-release" law enforcement where even burglars arrested for breaking into people's homes are being turned loose, and there's no sign of that changing anytime soon.

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