A parolee arrested last year after forcing a man to give him a ride at gunpoint and then stealing the man's car, prompting a manhunt that triggered a lockdown at an area school, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday.
Joshua Nole Cox, 29, of Hot Springs, whose parole was revoked after his arrest May 20, 2016, appeared in Garland County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to robbery, amended from the more serious charge of aggravated robbery, with his sentence to run concurrent with the revocation of his parole.
Additional felony charges of kidnapping and possession of a firearm by certain persons and a misdemeanor charge of second-degree criminal mischief were withdrawn by prosecutors. Court costs were expunged for time served since his arrest. Cox was on parole from a 2009 conviction on two felony counts of breaking or entering.
According to the affidavits, on May 18, 2016, shortly after midnight, a local man, 20, states he was at a residence on Skyview Terrace when a known suspect, identified as Cox, showed up. He said Cox was armed with a silver 9-mm pistol and was brandishing it inside the residence, saying he needed a ride to Fox Pass Cutoff.
The victim noted Cox was "acting in an unusual manner" and "seemed paranoid," becoming angry at one point and smashing a smoke alarm off the wall. Cox wanted to pay someone $200 to drive him to Fox Pass because he needed to recover a wrecked vehicle there.
Finally, Cox pointed the gun at the victim and ordered him to get in the victim's car, a 2004 Lincoln LS, and drive him. They drove down Skyview to Whittington Avenue with Cox in the passenger seat and Cox became paranoid they were being followed. He threatened to shoot the victim if he didn't speed up and fired one round into the windshield.
The victim said he was afraid and stopped the car. Cox pointed the gun at him and said, "Drive, get out or get shot." The victim quickly got out, and Cox left with the vehicle.
Later that day, the vehicle was reported as stolen and listed on the Arkansas Crime Information Center which returned a "delayed hit notification" from the Hot Springs Police Department because officers had already found the vehicle abandoned in an empty lot at the corner of Reynolds and Russell streets.
Garland County sheriff's Lt. Joel Ware went to the scene and verified it was the same car and noted the bullet hole in the windshield consistent with the victim's statement. The car's stereo was missing and the windows were rolled down.
On May 20, around noon, GCSD investigators went to 125 Rockdale Road after learning Cox had been seen at that location armed with a pistol. As investigators arrived, Cox escaped out a back window and fled the residence on foot.
Sheriff's deputies, Hot Springs police, Arkansas State Police, an Arkansas Community Correction SRT Unit and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission all responded to the scene and secured a perimeter around the residence and parts of nearby Park Avenue, prompting a temporary lockdown at Fountain Lake School.
Cox was later located in the 4700 block of Park and taken into custody. The 9-mm pistol was later found inside the residence on Rockdale and a 9-mm bullet was found in Cox's jeans pocket.
Local on 03/28/2017