William Black
A man who told law enforcement officers he and his wife had been chased and shot at by a group of Hispanics as they drove between Northwest Arkansas and Mountain Home appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
The man claiming to be a victim, 33-year-old William Colby Black of Mountain Home, ended up being charged with a crime instead.
Black was charged in two incidents one on Oct. 27 last year and another a day later.
His charges are possession of drugs, including methamphetamine and simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms. He entered a guilty plea to the drug charges and was put on probation for five years. Prosecutors dismissed the simultaneous possession charge — a Class Y Felony, punishable by a sentence of up to life in prison.
About 11:40 p.m. Oct. 27 last year, Mountain Home police and Baxter County sheriff’s deputies went to Baxter Regional Medical Center after being told a man was being treated at the facility for a reported gunshot wound.
Following an investigation, it was determined the story about the pursuit did not hold up and Black’s status changed from potential victim to arrestee.
According to a release from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, it was determined that neither Black nor his wife had been injured during the incident.
The wife was identified as Brittany D. Wadsworth. A check of the license plate on the vehicle she and Black had been in came back registered to her with a Mountain Home address.
While not wounded in the alleged shooting incident, the couple did appear to “be on some sort of stimulant or hallucinogen,” according to reports by law enforcement.
The story about where the alleged confrontation with the Hispanics took place kept changing, according to the press release.
According to investigators, Black said he and Wadsworth had been in Springdale and were returning to Mountain Home to replenish their stash of methamphetamine.
Arkansas State Police investigators joined the other two law enforcement agencies in looking into Black’s claim.
A search of the couple’s vehicle revealed a hole in the windshield and damage to the weather stripping of one of the doors.
The damage was reported to look as if bullets had caused it, but evidence showed the shots had come from inside the vehicle.
No other damage was discovered.
A .45-caliber handgun was found in the vehicle’s console, along with two empty shell casings. Multiple loose .45-caliber shells were located throughout the vehicle.
Officers also found two cellophane sleeves containing various pills and a white substance believed to be methamphetamine.
Black claimed ownership of the gun and the drugs and was alleged to have admitted he had taken some of the pills and ingested methamphetamine as well.
Investigators said Black reported during the chase with the “Hispanics,” he had fired a number of shots from his handgun in the direction of his alleged pursuers and in the air.
The release indicates Black was freed from jail after posting a $15,000 bond.
Black and Wadsworth’s bizarre encounters continued Oct. 28 last year when they are alleged to have arrived uninvited at a home along Klemm Place.
According to court records, Black had been questioned by investigators from the state police at 10:47 a.m. on the 28th regarding the shooting incident.
At just after 4:30 p.m., a Baxter County Deputy responded to the Klemm Road address to investigate two strangers who had showed up at the residence.
The pair was identified as Black and Wadsworth. Investigators reported Wadsworth is alleged to have “run up” to a resident of the home and said Black was going to kill her.
When the incident began, only the female resident and her three-year-old child were at home. The female victim said she told Black and Wadsworth to leave.
The resident said she armed herself in fear for her safety and that of her child. At one point, there was concern that Wadsworth might try and enter the house.
Investigators said the victim’s husband had been called and he returned home to check on his family.
At one point, Black is said to have alleged Wadsworth was high on Colonapin and that he was partial to Suboxone.
The male victim told authorities Black reported to him that Wadsworth had wrecked the car and that one of the tires was flat. The husband reported the vehicle was covered with glass and a tire was deflated.
Black and Wadsworth were alleged to have been yelling at each other in the yard of the residence, apparently over the damage done to the vehicle.
Wadsworth told the male victim Black intended to cut her throat with a knife still in the vehicle. The husband retrieved the knife and gave it to the responding deputy when he arrived.
At the time of the Klemm Place encounter, no charges were filed against Black and Wadsworth. A wrecker towed the damaged car off the Klemm Place property and gave Black and Wadsworth a ride.
In early September last year, court records show Wadsworth filed a petition to keep Black away from her. She alleged she had kicked him out of her residence because he was “acting very crazy” and “telling wild stories that people were after him.”
The petition was filed Sept.3, 2020 and Wadsworth requested it be dropped 11 days later.
Petitions have also been filed related to the custody of children from various relationships in which Black and Wadsworth have been involved.
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