West Memphis Defendant Accused in $62,342 Jonesboro Construction Site Theft Faces $300,000 Bond

JONESBORO, Ark. — A West Memphis defendant is facing felony charges after Jonesboro police said new DNA evidence linked him to the theft of air conditioning equipment from a construction site in the city.

Emanual Dytrel Steele, 37, of West Memphis, was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, a Class C felony, and theft of property valued at $25,000 or more, a Class B felony.

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According to a Jonesboro Police Department probable cause affidavit, officers were dispatched at about 7:45 a.m. on Sept. 6, 2023, to 3315 Stadium Blvd. in reference to a theft of property. Police made contact with the alleged victim, who was the foreman in charge of the construction site where a new car lot was being built.

The alleged victim told police that multiple pieces of air conditioning equipment had been stolen. According to the affidavit, the missing items included seven York AC compressors, eight Fraser-Johnson AC coils and seven Fraser-Johnson furnace units.

Police said officers at the scene observed blood droplets in the area where the items had been removed, along with various disconnected equipment components. Because of that evidence, the Criminal Investigation Division was requested, and blood swabs were collected and submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis, according to the affidavit.

On Feb. 18, 2026, police said they received results from the crime lab indicating a positive DNA match to Steele. Investigators then obtained a phone number for Steele through his probation officer and spoke with him multiple times by phone while scheduling appointments for an interview, but he failed to appear each time, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that on March 30, 2026, Steele came to the Jonesboro Police Department for an interview after detectives made contact with family members. During that interview, police said Steele acknowledged owning the white van referenced by investigators and said he was willing to speak without an attorney present.

Steele told detectives that during the time of the incident he was working in Texas and had never performed any work in Jonesboro, specifically at the location in question, according to the affidavit.

When detectives informed Steele that his DNA had been identified on blood evidence collected at the scene, he invoked his right to an attorney and the interview ended, according to police.

The affidavit lists the total value of the stolen items at $62,342.

Steele’s next court date is scheduled for May 18. Bond was set at $300,000.

During the hearing, Judge David Boling noted in court that Steele had a long criminal history and was currently on parole. The judge also noted in court that Steele had said he should have run instead of turning himself in, which the judge said he considers when setting bond. During the hearing, Steele argued with the judge about that and other points, then repeated the same statement detectives alleged he had made about believing he should not have turned himself in.

The judge replied, telling him good luck.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.