Couple arrested and charged

Oct 15, 2023

An Odessa couple was arrested Thursday morning after two brothers told officers they caught the couple acting suspiciously in their yard and the woman reacted violently when they tried to prevent the man from leaving.

According to an Odessa Police Department report, dispatchers received a 911 call around 11:40 a.m. Thursday about a theft in progress at the 1800 block of West Murphy.

When officers arrived, the brothers told them they found Scott Harold Pyeatt, 54, on their property placing an air hydraulic jack underneath one of their vehicles, the report stated.

When they tried to prevent Pyeatt from leaving, the brothers said Rhonda Lee Smith, 64, appeared. According to the report, they said she hit one of the brothers and pushed him to the ground before leaving momentarily.

Smith came back in a car and drove over the foot of the brother she’d earlier pushed down, the report stated.

Both remained in the Ector County jail Friday afternoon. No bond had been set for Pyeatt, but Smith had a $75,000 surety bond.

Officers noticed one brother had dirt on his backside, the report stated. In addition, they found two hydraulic jacks and one of them was under a vehicle.

Pyeatt and Smith told the officers they’d dropped off a friend at the property, the report stated. Pyeatt also said he was planning to use one of the jack's to level out his friend's trailer without his knowledge.

The pair were arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison.