Woman involved in assaulting Gassville man gets prison time

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Photo: Jessica Lynn Wuest

A woman accused of participating in the beating and robbery of a Gassville man pled guilty to the charges against her and was sentenced to 10 years in prison during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.

Thirty-six-year-old Jessica Lynn Wuest, whose last known address was in Ash Flat, was alleged to have gone to the home of the victim in Gassville with two males in late May last year.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim told investigators he had been doing yard work and went inside to take a short break. He said he was “jumped” by two men – identified as 32-year-old Steve Niziol and 20-year-old Jonathan Cole Smith.

The victim said his wallet and personal valuables were taken as the two men discussed an alleged debt the Gassville man was supposed to owe.

Investigators reported the victim saw Wuest coming out of his bedroom with a rifle he owned as well as ammunition for the weapon.

The victim said he believed the trio entered his residence through the back door while he was distracted by his yard work.

According to court records, the victim said the three alleged perpetrators warned him not to tell anyone about the incident or they would return and kill him with his own rifle.

At one point, Wuest and the two males were reported to have hooked a trailer owned by the victim to the vehicle they had driven to the scene, loaded it with items removed from his residence and drove away.

Both men received prison time. Niziol was sentenced to 20 years and Smith to 10 years, with four to serve and two suspended with a judicial transfer to one of the Community Correction Centers in the state

Smith was to undergo addiction treatment.



Photos: (from left) Steve Niziol and Jonathan Cole Smith

Wuest is also charged with bringing 10.2 pounds of methamphetamine from Oklahoma to Benton County in Northwest Arkansas. She is schedule to reappear in Benton County Circuit Court Feb. 24. According to the probable cause affidavit in that case, police received information Wuest and a male were traveling from Tulsa into Arkansas with a large quantity of methamphetamine hidden somewhere in their vehicle.

After they were stopped, the drug was found hidden inside a freshly painted propane tank commonly used to fuel outdoor grills. Officers were drawn to the tank, which was in the trunk of the Dodge Charger, because the welded seam in the middle of the tank did appear “homemade.”

Among the charges filed against Wuest in the Benton County case is trafficking drugs a Class Y felony, the most serious crime classification in Arkansas not punishable by death.

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