Photo: Mitchell Smithey
A man who allegedly assaulted his wife using an iron skillet, razor blade and laundry detergent as weapons changed his plea to no contest during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Wednesday and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Thirty-seven-year-old Mitchell Smithey, whose last known address was Gassville, was scheduled for a jury trial Thursday, but opted to take a plea offer from the state instead.
He allegedly assaulted his wife in mid-October last year.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a Gassville police officer met the wife at a convenience store shortly before 1 a.m. Oct. 10.
She was reported to have had extensive visible injuries. Her face was swollen, and she had a large lump on her forehead, as well as a bloody spot on her hand and swelling in her arms.
The wife told the officer Smithey had been beating on her for some time, and had indicated he would take her life.
According to the victim, Smithey hit her with an iron skillet, threatened to disfigure her with a razor blade, pinned her on the floor and poured an entire bottle of laundry detergent on her face and down her mouth, leaving her gasping for air.
The victim said Smithey had gotten her in a headlock and tried to choke her at one point. He also covered her nose and mouth with both hands to stop her from breathing. He is also alleged to have asked his wife if she was having trouble breathing.
The woman said she had escaped from her husband after asking him what she would have to do to get him to stop beating her.
Smithey told his wife to go and purchase cigarettes for him, and he would use the time she was away on the errand to determine what he would to her when she returned.
He is reported to have said, “Be careful what you do. It determines if you will still have a life or not.”
The woman called police from the convenience store and met the Gassville officer there. She returned to the couple’s residence along North School Place with the policeman and a Baxter County deputy who had responded to the incident.
The victim was offered medical attention, but said she would take herself to the hospital later. Her first priority, she told officers, was to get her children out of the house and away from Smithey.
When the officers arrived at the front door to the residence, they reported hearing a loud noise and the rustling of leaves coming from the west side of the residence. Smithey had jumped out a rear bedroom window and fled.
Police returned to the house a few days later, found Smithey and arrested him. According to the probable cause affidavit, police discovered Smithey had cut a hole in the bathroom floor leading to a crawlspace. When an officer arrived, Smithey scurried through the hole and refused to come out.
He surrendered after being warned the Mountain Home police dog was about to be used to flush him out from under the house. He exited his hiding place and was taken into custody.
After the incident, the victim first received an order of protection banning Smithey from having contact with her or the couple’s children. She then filed for divorce in November of last year.
Charges filed against Smithey stemming from the assault on his wife included 3rd degree domestic battery, terroristic threatening, four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, interference with emergency communications and fleeing. Only one of the charges was listed as a felony.
After posting bond and getting out of jail, Smithey went on the run in November last year. A failure-to-appear warrant was issued when he did not show up as ordered for a session of Baxter County Circuit Court.
Smithey had a brief encounter with lawmen in late March when they went to check on a report of a suspicious person in the shower house at the Lakeview Park Campground.
They reported seeing a male – later identified as Smithey – in a shower stall. When Smithey came out of the stall, he ran toward one of the officers running into him and fleeing from the shower house. He ran into a nearby woods and disappeared.
While court records do not indicate where Smithey spent the five months he was on the run, he was eventually arrested in Fayetteville. He has been an inmate in the Baxter County jail since being returned to the county.
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