Dustin James Blair of Cotter, charged with threatening family members with a handgun, entered a not guilty plea during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the incident occurred in late May when Blair, reportedly intoxicated and under the influence of drugs, began arguing with his brother and threatened to kill him.
Blair then allegedly pulled out a .25-caliber automatic handgun, pointed it as his father and also threatened to kill him. The father wrestled the gun away from Blair who bolted from the residence and ran from the scene before officers could arrive.
Blair returned to the residence several hours later and was taken into custody.
Blair’s bond was set at $100,000. His attorney, Jeremy Friend, asked the court to approve a bond reduction for his client. He told the court Blair could bond out and live in another residence so as not to violate the court’s order that he have no contact with the victims.
The state objected to the bond reduction. Fourteenth Judicial District Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism argued, given the serious nature of the crime, the state felt the bond was appropriate.
Judge Gordon Webb agreed with the state and let the $100,000 bond stand unchanged. He said if Blair did bond out of jail, he was to have absolutely no contact with the victims.
Blair is due to reappear in circuit court July 12th.
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