Since 2013, Leigh Goldsworth Blackmon has picked up criminal charges in both Baxter and Marion Counties.
He appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday, June 23 and spent a significant amount of time meeting with his attorney to decide whether he would accept a negotiated plea offered by the state.
At one point, it was announced that Blackmon was rejecting the proposed plea agreement, then there seemed to be some indication he might reconsider.
Eventually, no resolution was reached and it was decided to take the matter up again June 25 when the Marion County Circuit Court would be in session.
On June 25 Blackmon made a brief appearance in Marion County Circuit Court and it was announced he had not changed his mind about accepting the plea offer which is reported to have called for a 10-year prison sentence to cover his cases in both Baxter and Marion Counties.
It now appears that Blackmon will be headed to trial and dates are being looked at for those trials.
There are a variety of charges filed against Blackmon including burglary, theft of property, bringing drugs into the Marion County Detention Center, 1st and 2nd degree battery, being a felon in possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence and sexual assault.
A sexual assault case opened against Blackmon in Baxter County stems from an incident that took place in February 2023.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim had dated Blackmon at one time and allowed him to stay in her house after he had gotten out of jail.
The victim told investigators that security cameras in her house showed Blackmon looking at the camera while performing a sex act. He was also reported to have made an obscene gesture toward the camera.
The alleged sexual assault then took place, according to the probable cause affidavit.
In Marion County, he has also been accused of shooting a man with a shotgun, striking his cousin with a shovel and a 2×4 plank of wood.
Charges have been lodged against him for breaking into a house and stealing items, taking vehicles, possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia.
At the beginning, most charges against Blackmon stemmed from thefts, but later he was arrested for physically assaulting people including the cousin and a former girlfriend.
He is also facing the revocation of his probation in a Baxter County case. Blackmon was convicted of residential burglary and tampering with physical evidence in connection with a residential break-in in late June 2019.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Blackmon broke into the resident of the man he was working for when the man and his family were away on vacation.
His actions were captured on security cameras as he moved about the house. He was reported to have gone through a cabinet where the family kept medications and medicines prescribed for the wife following surgery were the only things that appeared to be missing.
Blackmon eventually noticed the cameras and disabled them by disconnecting the Wi-Fi in the residence.
He was sentenced to 10 years-probation in late October 2020.
Blackmon is accused of violating the terms and conditions of his probation by failing to report for scheduled meetings with his supervising officer, changing addresses without notification and failing to maintain contact with the Community Corrections office.
The revocation petition also accuses Blackmon of several crimes while on probation, including 3rd degree domestic battery, 1st degree battery and being a felon in possession of a firearm, being charged with sexual assault, and failing to pay court ordered fines.
He has been jailed in Marion County since October 20, 2023, on charges in that county. He also has a hold placed on him by Baxter County.
Felony cases that remain active in Marion County involve charges that he shot a man, leaving him with serious injuries and physically attacking his cousin.
SHOT MAN WITH SHOTGUN
In mid-October 2023, a woman called the Marion County 911 Center and reported she was driving a man, later identified as Michael Ray Vetor, to the ambulance base in Yellville because he had been shot.
The woman said the incident had occurred at a residence in the Summitt area and that Blackmon was the shooter.
There are no details in the probable cause affidavit to spell out what led to the incident.
Blackmon is charged with first degree battery, being a felon in possession of a firearm, committing a felony with a firearm and being a habitual offender.
ATTACKED RELATIVE
In another active Marion County case, Blackmon is charged with attacking his cousin with a shovel and a 2×4 plank.
In early March 2022, Blackmons cousin drove to a house where Blackmon lived with his father. The cousin said he went there to retrieve two tool bags that had been stolen from him.
He said he had seen his tool bags under Blackmons house during an earlier trip.
When the cousin spoke to Blackmons father, he was told Blackmon was not at home. He then reported telling the father he was going to take his tool bags.
The father admonished him not to remove the because that would be stealing.
Blackmon was notified and returned home. He was reported to have jumped out of his truck yelling and screaming at the cousin.
He is then alleged to have picked up a shovel and began swinging it at his relative. When the shovel slipped out of his hands, Blackmon is reported to have picked up a board and continued the attack. The cousin is reported to have suffered a broken arm as a result of the beating.
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