A man, who’s last known address was in Grenada, was bound over to the action of the Montgomery County Grand Jury for allegedly breaking into his brother’s home and the home of a woman not far from where his brother lives.
Asa Small, Jr. went before Judge Alan D. Lancaster on two counts of burglary of a dwelling. His brother, Keith Small, said he lives on Greensboro Street right behind his dad and his stepmom. He said that one of his cousins had dropped his younger brother, Asa Small Jr., off at his dad’s house.
He said he had left a stack of money, over $100 in ones, on his couch.
Small said he was at work and when he returned home, he noticed things were out of place. “When I walked in the door, I saw that the money was gone. I left it there because I live alone, you know I wasn’t expecting someone to come into my home,” he said.
Small said he went through the house, and he noticed other things were missing.
“I noticed things were unarranged,” he said. “So, I went to the back, and I had three Pringle cans full of coins – quarters, nickels and dimes, and they were all gone. And then I noticed my television was gone.
Small said he knew that his brother was at his dad’s house and his brother has a criminal history of taking things. He said he instantly suspected his brother.
“I know him, and I know his criminal history. So, when I was told he was home, it was an automatic,” he said.
Small said he was contacted by Mike Herring with the Winona Police Department telling him they’d located his television.
“I think it’s still at the PD,” Small said. “I’m not sure what they did with it.”
Herring said a woman called him and said there was a television at the home. “She said Asa brought it over,” Keith Small said.
He said another woman, Kimberly Purnell, called the department because her neighbor told her that she should check her home.
Herring said a variety of items was allegedly taken from the home that included laptops, a television, a wheelchair, shoes, clothing, and jewelry. He said when Small, Jr. was arrested and taken to the Carroll-Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility, the guards said he looked as if he was a rockstar.
“They said he had rings on all his fingers,” Herring said. “I said, ‘he had rings huh?’” He said he went to get Small, Jr.’s personal items and called Purnell, who identified the rings.
“I told her to go check the home to see if anything else was missing,” he said. Herring said that’s when Purnell and her boyfriend discovered that Small, Jr. allegedly gained entry into the home through a back window and noticed the items that were missing.
When Bailey asked for a reduction in bond, Lancaster denied the request. Lancaster told City Prosecutor Putt Crull, Jr. that acting prosecutor Jennifer Adams-Williams said that she had prosecuted Small, Jr., many times.
“She [Adams-Williams] said he just goes into a store, see something that he wants, takes it and just walks out,” Lancaster said. He said because of the knowledge of that history, he wasn’t inclined to reduce bond.
Bond remains at $50,000.
