Police: Suspect's heart monitor found in store he burglarized

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Authorities say a heart monitor found inside an auto parts business early Saturday was dropped by a Poplar Bluff man as he burglarized the store.

At 1:55 a.m., officers responded to an alarm sounding at the NAPA Auto Parts store in Poplar Bluff, according to patrolman Dylan Janes' report.

Janes said he contacted a witness who reported hearing the alarm sound and seeing a man wearing black clothing run east on Vine Street, then south on 11th Street.

When Janes began to search the area, Cpl. Shane Bates saw the store's glass door was broken and what appeared to be blood on the grass, Janes said in the report.

"A short time later, officer (Jeremy) Elless advised he was out with a white male subject with blood on his pants walking east on Vine," Janes said.

The man was identified as Kory J. Carda, 23, of Poplar Bluff.

When asked about the blood, Janes said, Carda told the officer it came from his arm that he cut during a fight at Westwood Billiards.

Janes said a dispatcher called Westwood Billiards, and its employees reported there had been no fights at the business.

Carda then said he had fallen, James said.

Elless asked whether Carda had any property on him, and he stated "yes." Carda, Janes said, and began emptying his pockets.

"Carda took a large amount of cash (and) placed it on the trunk of the car," Janes said. "While taking his property out, Carda stated he was missing his heart monitor."

When Carda lifted his shirt, Janes said, he could see a ring on his stomach area that reassembled a heart-monitor sticky pad.

The owners of NAPA reported nearly $270 was taken from its cash register. The same amount of cash reportedly was in Carda's pocket, Janes said.

Inside the business, officers also found a Taco Bell cup with fresh condensation on the counter. Taco Bell employees reported a "subject matching (Carda's) description" had been at the restaurant, Janes said.

"I also observed a heart monitor laying on the floor in front of the cash register," Janes said. "During the process, (Carda) stated he lost his heart monitor, and he needed to go back and look for it.

"I advised Carda we located it inside NAPA, and he stated: 'Even though that may be the case, I still need my heart monitor.'"

Carda was arrested on suspicion of second-degree burglary and stealing. He was booked at the Butler County jail.