MH man arrested for allegedly breaking infant daughter’s arms and legs
A Mountain Home man, 21-year-old Andrew William Coon, was arrested Friday after allegedly admitting he was responsible for injuries his three-month-old daughter sustained. The Mountain Home Police Department was notified by McKenzie Jackson, with the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division about a hotline report saying the infant, whose name has not been released, had several broken bones including fractured ribs and fractures to the arms and legs. Coon faces two felony counts of second-degree battery. He was released Sunday after posting a $25,000 bond.
According to the arrest affidavit, the infant girl was taken into custody by the Department of Human Services after she was located at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
A physicians report says there is no evidence of any medical condition causing or contributing to the fractures and the type of fractures point to child abuse. In the physicians opinion, the fractures are a result of a least two episodes of violent trauma.
Lieutenant Eddie Griffin, with the Mountain Home Police Department, requested Coon and the child’s mother come to the department to be interviewed. The mother denied any knowledge of wrongdoing. She did say she would sometimes hear her daughter scream in an unusual way when she was being cared for by her father. She also said she would feel uncomfortable leaving the child in Coon’s care and at one point was told by Coon, as they were getting ready to take their daughter to the hospital, doing so may not end well.
After Coon was read his rights he allegedly said he may have used a “little more force than he should have.” In a follow-up interview, the affidavit says Coon indicated he had no doubt he was responsible for his daughter’s broken arms and legs.
Coon is scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court.
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Mother sentenced to probation in connection with toddler daughter’s death
A Marion County woman, 22-year-old Anastasia Weaver of Flippin, has been sentenced to 20 years probation for her role in the death of her toddler daughter.
Weaver’s sentence Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court followed a negotiated plea in which the charge of manslaughter was not prosecuted, and the Marion County woman pled no contest to the offense of permitting child abuse.
The charges stem from her role in the death of her infant daughter, Alithia Ivory Boyd, in May 2016.
Weaver’s boyfriend at the time, 24-year-old Cody Allen, pled guilty to causing the death of the little girl. Allen was sentenced to life in prison during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court in October 2017.
Fourteenth District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge says the negotiated plea was pursued after Weaver provided information assisting the state in obtaining the life sentence for Allen, the primary defendant in the case. In addition, Weaver was not present when the child was injured.
The case began when officers were called to a Flippin apartment complex for an unresponsive child, later identified as Alithia Boyd.
When police officers arrived, first responders were treating the child in the bathroom area of the apartment. Officers noted severe bruising to the child’s head and shoulders.
Officers were initially told the girl had fallen down a set of stairs, but in court records, investigators indicated the injuries appeared to be too severe to have been caused by such a fall.
The probable cause affidavit in Allen’s case indicates at one point Weaver admitted she lied to first responders about having firsthand knowledge the child fell down the stairs. She said she actually did not know how her daughter sustained the injuries.
She said she had been away from the apartment visiting a relative and had left her two children with Allen. She said when she returned and noticed the bruising and other injuries, she had asked Allen what happened, and he said the child had fallen down the stairs.
Weaver said she told Allen she did not believe his story, and he then said he must have had a seizure and fallen on the child. She told investigators the child was playing and did not seem to be acting unusual at that point so she took no further action.
Weaver told investigators she laid the child down for a nap about 6:30 p.m. on May 1st, 2016, and the child remained in her room for about three hours. At that point, Weaver said she heard unusual noises coming from the room where her daughter was napping. She described the noises as whimpering. She said she went to check on the child and found the infant to be very hot, sweating and having what were described as “uncontrollable body movements.”
Weaver said Allen was present in the apartment at the time and asked her not to call 911. She said, however, she was concerned what would happen to her daughter if the little girl went without medical attention and made the 911 call. Weaver said she made the call despite her fear Allen might seriously harm her if she did.
Weaver said Allen became upset and told her if she called for assistance, he would “go to prison for something I did not mean to do.” She said Allen then fled the apartment.
The infant was flown to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
As Flippin police officers and members of the child’s family gathered at the hospital, Weaver was again questioned regarding the circumstances surrounding the life-threatening injuries her daughter had sustained.
The medical team at the Springfield hospital said if she child survived, which was problematic, the little girl would be severely mentally handicapped and would most likely never walk again.
The child was described by medical personnel at Mercy Hospital as having numerous injuries to the head and neck. There was severe bruising to the entire left side of her face and forehead and to the right side of her forehead. She was also bruised on the shoulder area of her left arm and near the elbow area of her left hip. The child had a circular burn on her stomach area approximately the size of a dime. The medical personnel said, in their opinion, some of the injuries came from her being struck with an object of some kind.
Because of the dire prognosis, life support devices were removed, and it was announced on Friday, May 6th, 2016 the little girl had succumbed to her injuries. Her death came just 10 days in advance of her second birthday.
In speaking to a police officer at the Springfield hospital, Weaver began to open up regarding her relationship with Allen and the injuries her daughter sustained.
She said she had noticed bruising on her children before, but had not reported it because of her fear of Allen. She alleged Allen had been abusive toward her, as well as her children, during their five-month relationship.
Weaver alleged she had lost a baby recently because Allen had punched her four times in the stomach in order to induce a miscarriage.
She described one occasion in which Allen had gotten her in a headlock and attempted to gouge one of her eyes out with his finger. She said she had bitten him to stop the attack. Officers noted Allen did have bite marks on his left arm.
Weaver described a number of violent physical encounters with Allen, and said he had threatened to kill her if she reported the abuse to law enforcement.
Weaver quoted Allen as telling her if he were arrested for abusing her, he would bond out of jail and could kill her even if an order of protection was issued by a court prohibiting him from contacting her. Allen is reported to have said the order of protection was just a piece of paper, and she would be dead by the time law enforcement came to arrest him for violating it.
Investigators noted Weaver had cuts, scrapes, and bruises covering almost her entire body in various stages of healing.
Allen was arrested related to the Alithia Boyd case in the early morning hours of May 2, 2016. In an interview with police, Allen said he could understand why he was being blamed for the incident. He said Weaver would never do anything to harm her children. He repeated the only thing he could think of to explain the injuries was that he had a seizure and fell on the child.
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Officer shooting ruled appropriate, necessary
The officer involved shooting death of a Texas man in the Lone Rock area of Baxter County last month has been deemed “appropriate and necessary.” The decision by 14th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge on the actions of Baxter County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Gates follows an Arkansas State Police investigation.
In his just released ruling, Ethredge says, in a letter to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, he reviewed the report and the information compiled by the Arkansas State Police in reaching his decision. In addition, he reviewed video evidence and the report by the Arkansas State Deputy Chief Medical Director, Steven Erickson.
Ethredge told KTLO, Classic Hits 101.7 and The Boot news the work of the Arkansas State Police was a “top-notch investigation” and assisted him greatly in making his decision.
The suspect in the theft of a tractor, 50-year-old Michael Lavelee Holliman, was shot and killed by Gates following a confrontation involving a crossbow.
When Gates stopped the reported stolen tractor, Holliman confronted the deputy with a crossbow. A physical struggle ensued, and the deputy shot him. The suspect was killed and the deputy sustained minor injury.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said at the time of the altercation it was later confirmed the tractor Holliman was operating was the one reported stolen earlier. It was also determined there was an outstanding felony bench warrant for Holliman’s arrest for possession of firearms by certain persons or a convicted felon.
Holliman was found to have an extensive past arrest history in Missouri, California, Iowa, and Texas, including convictions for armed robbery, grand theft, and assault.
The incident began when, according to Montgomery, Deputy Gates was dispatched to the Lone Rock Store at 7755 Push Mountain Road to take a theft report. After arriving at the store, Gates was told a tractor, matching the description of one reported stolen in the same area passed by the store and was headed west on Baxter County Road 72, adjacent to the store.
Gates followed the tractor a short distance and was able to make contact with the suspect. Two minutes later, the deputy advised by radio shots had been fired and a man was down.
Gates has been with the department since July 2015. He had previously worked for another law enforcement agency in Arkansas since 2014 before moving to Baxter County.
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Investigation underway for suspected homicide near Calico Rock
Izard County Sheriff Jack Yancey says 23-year-old Cydney Taylor of Dolph was taken into custody Sunday and charged with first degree murder after an alleged stabbing incident Sunday. Taylor is incarcerated in the Izard County Jail in lieu of a $200,000 bond.
According to Yancey, on Sunday morning, at approximately 1:00, Izard County deputies responded to a 911 call from the Gorby community, near Calico Rock, stating someone had been stabbed. Upon arrival, deputies discovered 29-year-old Joseph Stefka of Horseshoe Bend with what appeared to be a puncture wound to the chest.
Stefka was transported to the Calico Rock Medical Center by Vital Link Ambulance Service, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
According to the arrest affidavit filed Monday, Taylor is Stefka’s girlfriend and was on the scene of the stabbing. A bloody knife was found on a cabinet near the victim.
Statements made from witnesses at the scene say the pair were in an argument over breaking up.
After being read her rights, Taylor allegedly admitted Stefka and she were arguing in the kitchen when he began to call her names. She says she removed a knife from a knife block and stabbed him.
The case is being investigated by the Izard County Sheriffs Department and the Arkansas State Police.
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Turkey Trot has a new sponsor, condition–no dropped birds
The Mid-Marion County Rotary Club has decided to sponsor the annual Turkey Trot event this year after the Yellville Area Chamber of Commerce announced earlier in April it will no longer sponsor the festival.
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports the Rotary Club voted 16 to 6 on Monday to take over sponsorship, but only if no live turkeys are on the premises or dropped from airplanes, says Stan Duffy, president elect of the Rotary Club.
The festival gained national attention last year as news organizations from coast to coast reported, what would eventually become, a controversial tradition of throwing turkeys from a low flying plane.
For about 50 years, “phantom pilots” have flown airplanes by the festival and released live turkeys. Most of the birds spread their wings and glide to the ground, but some of them don’t open their wings and die on impact. The practice has incensed animal-welfare activists.
Duffy says if a pilot flies by Turkey Trot this fall and drops turkeys from the sky, that will be the end of the festival.
Meanwhile, a Nevada congresswoman says she wants her colleagues to ban the
dropping of live turkeys.
Democratic Representative Dina Titus told the House Rules Committee on Tuesday that while the scene is reminiscent of a 1970s sitcom, maiming animals at the Yellville Turkey Trot is serious business.
Titus’ amendment to a Federal Aviation Administration rules package was not sent to the House floor, and the congresswoman told The Associated Press on Wednesday she intends to raise the issue in a separate bill.
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