A Hot Springs man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly punching his 10-year-old son in the face while punishing him for spelling errors.
Nathaniel Davis III, 37, who lists a Wood Street address, was taken into custody at 1:15 p.m. and charged with a felony count of second-degree domestic battery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He remained in custody Thursday and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to the affidavit, on Monday, Hot Springs police Detective Kenny May was notified of a report made to the Child Abuse Hotline regarding a juvenile male, 10, being punched in the face by his father. A Department of Human Services worker told May she had made contact with the alleged victim and observed bruising near his left eye.
That same day, May spoke to the child and noted he had a large bruised area around his eye. The child reportedly told him his father had punched him "for not getting his spelling words right." He said his father apologized to him the next day and he told his father it was OK.
On Wednesday, May spoke to Davis who reportedly stated he was working with his son on his spelling words on Sept. 21. He said his son was getting his words wrong so he "whooped him" with a belt on his buttocks. He said at one point his son tried to get off the bed and he "struck him in the left eye with his right knuckles."
He said he didn't notice the bruise to his son's eye until after work on Saturday. He said he apologized the day after the incident and his son told him it was OK.
• A 19-year-old local man was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly having sex with an underage girl in August and July.
Laquaveon Germain Haywood, alias "Cookie," who lists a Virginia Street address, was taken into custody shortly after 10 a.m. and charged with two felony counts of sexual indecency with a child, punishable by up to six years in prison.
Haywood remained in custody Thursday in lieu of $3,500 bond and is set to appear today in district court.
According to the affidavit, on Sept. 11, May was notified of a Child Abuse Hotline report stating a 19-year-old male suspect was having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old female victim.
The next day, the victim was interviewed by Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children investigator Taylor Griffie and allegedly disclosed she was involved in a sexual relationship with Haywood.
On Wednesday, May interviewed Haywood who allegedly admitted to having sex with the victim "at least 20 times." He stated one encounter was on July 4 in his bedroom and the last time was on Aug. 18. He initially said he thought the victim was 17, but later acknowledged he knew she was only 14 and still continued their relationship, the affidavit states.
Haywood was only charged with two counts as he could only provide the exact dates and times of two encounters.
• A local man was arrested for driving while intoxicated, his sixth offense within 10 years, after allegedly wrecking his car Wednesday afternoon.
Travis Jason Mullings, 43, who lists a Burchwood Bay Road address, was taken into custody around 3 p.m. and charged with the DWI 6, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and misdemeanor counts of refusal to submit to a chemical test, driving on a suspended driver's license and failure to maintain control.
He was later released on $5,000 bond and is set to appear today in district court.
According to the affidavit, around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, police Officer Robert Plyler responded to Burchwood Bay Road and Hackberry Street regarding a property damage accident with one vehicle, a 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata, in the ditch.
He made contact with the driver, identified as Mullings, and noted he had bloodshot, watery eyes and a black eye, reportedly from a fight the night before. Mullings allegedly admitted to having several beers and a portable breathalyzer registered his blood alcohol content at 0.176 percent, more than twice the legal limit.
Mullings submitted to three field sobriety tests and reportedly failed all of them so he was taken into custody. He later refused to submit to an additional breath test at the detention center. Records revealed he was previously arrested and convicted of DWI five times, on May 15, 2011; July 27, 2011; April 27, 2012; Nov. 15, 2012; and April 9, 2017.
Local on 09/29/2017