Prentiss County authorities said Michael Wayne Wages, 58, of Booneville, was arrested on October 26, 2026, in connection with the burglary of the Prentiss County District 2 Shop and the theft of a Prentiss County vehicle.
The sheriff’s department said the investigation began October 10, 2026, after deputies responded to a reported break-in at the District 2 Shop on County Road 8311 near Booneville. Investigators said they determined that someone unlawfully entered the property, stole numerous items and left in a Prentiss County Ford F-150 truck.
According to the department, investigators Aaron Stolz, Torie Jumper and Kolby Knight reviewed surveillance footage, analyzed Flock camera data, gathered witness statements and followed multiple leads. The sheriff’s department said those steps led investigators to identify Wages and obtain warrants charging him with Burglary of a Commercial Building and Grand Larceny.
The department said investigators later learned Wages had been in possession of the stolen county vehicle following a burglary in Arkansas. Authorities said the truck was recovered in Helena, Arkansas, after being abandoned, and that Wages was later arrested in Panola County while operating another stolen vehicle from Helena.
Prentiss County authorities said they took Wages into custody on October 26 and transported him to the Prentiss County Jail. During an inventory of his personal property, investigators said they recovered the key and key fob for the stolen Ford F-150 and collected them as evidence. The department said Wages appeared before Justice Court Judge Craig Bishop on October 27, where bond was set at $100,000 professional bond only, and that he remains on a hold for the Mississippi Department of Corrections along with a felony warrant hold for Helena, Arkansas and Missouri.
Sheriff Tolar also thanked the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pontotoc Walmart Loss Prevention Team, the Pontotoc Sheriff’s Department, the Pontotoc Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in Arkansas and Mississippi for assisting in the investigation.
