Photo: Justin Lee Thompson
The prison sentence called for in a plea arrangement for a Gassville man accused of shooting his long time live-in girlfriend in the chest was initially rejected by Circuit Judge John Putman as “too light.”
Judge Putman said he would not accept the arrangement that would have given 28-year-old Justin Lee Thompson 15 years in prison. On the second try, the judge accepted a plea calling for Thompson to get 20 years instead.
Thompson was charged with attempting to commit first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, tampering with physical evidence and endangering the welfare of a minor.
At the time of the shooting, Thompson was on probation in a drug-related case.
In late April, a Gassville Police officer responded to a residence along Tallwood Lane where a person was reported to have been shot. The victim, identified as 28-year-old Sarah Orms, had been in a relationship with Thompson for about 10 years, according to court records.
The Gassville officer reported different and conflicting versions of the incident were initially given to him, including statements the victim had shot herself and a number of stories about who actually owned the weapon used.
When the victim was able to talk to investigators following surgery, she was said to have been adamant Thompson was the one who shot her. She said he had pulled the gun out of his back pocket during an argument and — whether by accident or design — had pulled the trigger.
According to court records, the couple has two sons together. At the time of the shooting, the older son told investigators from the Arkansas Department of Human Services he heard a shot, ran outside, and saw “daddy” holding a gun. The victim had filed for an order of protection to keep Thompson away from her in mid-January. She alleged in her petition fights between the couple had turned physical, and Thompson had beaten her at times.
In February, the petition was dismissed due to lack of prosecution, according to court records. Then, Thompson filed for an order of protection to keep Orms away from him. It was dismissed in April, also for lack of prosecution.
The shooting incident took place about two week after Thompson’s petition was dropped.
Thompson is an inmate in the Ester Unit of the state prison system at Pine Bluff on an earlier drug charge.
Orms also has a drug arrest on her record. In late June last year, she was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the purpose to deliver and with possessing paraphernalia used to ingest drugs.
Photo: Sarah Orms
According to court records, Orms was in an apartment located along Pioneer Trail when a search warrant was served at the residence as part of an ongoing drug investigation. Orms told police she had spent the night in the apartment with friends June 17, 2018. She admitted she had been around drugs and drug paraphernalia in the unit.
She was placed on probation for four years after entering a guilty plea to the charges during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court in February.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI