Gainesville woman faces new, second burglary case

A Gainesville woman already charged in connection with one burglary is now accused of committing another, with investigators alleging she stole items from two separate Ozark County residences within weeks of each other. 

Jessie Cullen, 26, is now facing two additional felony charges of burglary and stealing property valued at $750 or more, on top of existing charges that include receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Deputy Vesa Phelan, deputies responded to a suspicious vehicle call on Sept. 7, 2025. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a Rigid mini wheelbarrow compressor and a red gas jug marked “gas” inside a vehicle, later identified as being owned by Cullen. 

The items were consistent with those reported missing from a Tecumseh home after a burglary was reported in early September 2025 at a residence on County Road 328. The caller at that home said that his brother had visited their hunting cabin and discovered the garage door had been kicked in and several items missing including four red gas jugs (two marked “diesel” and two marked “gas”), a Rigid mini-wheelbarrow compressor, an orange Central Machine 8-inch bench grinder and a Pittsburgh 2-ton jack.

Officers inventoried the vehicle and recovered several items inside the vehicle that were suspected as stolen from the Tecumseh home. The vehicle was returned to Cullen at some point after that.

Then, at 2:40 p.m. Sept. 22, 2025, Phelan and Deputy Jeff Lane received information about a separate burglary at a second residence in the Caney Mountain district involving Cullen. 

The officers responded to the second residence and met with the homeowner, who told them that on Aug. 28, 2025, Cullen was supposed to pick him up from the hospital in West Plains. He said it should have taken her approximately 10 minutes to reach the hospital, as she was residing in West Plains at the time. Instead, it took nearly three hours for her to arrive there to pick him up.

The man said that prior to his hospital stay, Cullen was working for him as a live-in housekeeper and caregiver. Therefore, she had an intimate knowledge of the home’s layout and specific locations of his valuable items through her time serving in that capacity. 

He believed within that three hour delay before she arrived at the hospital, she unlawfully entered his home, likely by reaching through the doggie door and unlocking the main door, a method she knew from previously living there. He said he believes she then took several high-value items. 

Phelan wrote that multiple items that the man reported stolen from his home were included in the inventory listing of Cullen’s vehicle when the officers found it and performed an inventory search on Sept. 7, in reference to the first reported burglary. However, because they did not know about the second burglary at that time, those items had not be recovered. Instead, they had been given back to Cullen with the vehicle.

The additional items included a 70-pound compound bow, a peace pipe, drill sets, extension cords and a vintage wooden box. 

Lt. Matt Rhoades later conducted a traffic stop on Cullen’s vehicle and found items from the second burglary inside the vehicle. He then arrested Cullen for the burglary at the second residence. 

Cullen appeared in court before Circuit Judge Craig Carter on Jan. 22 and provided a requested urine sample, which was negative for illegal substances, according to the online court report. The judge then granted her permission to attend Turning Leaf drug rehab in West Plains. She is scheduled to return to court at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19 for a plea or trial setting in the case.