A previously convicted felon was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to threatening his girlfriend with a gun last year and burglarizing a local gas station earlier this year.
Jeremy Daniel Stevens, 33, who has remained in custody since his last arrest March 27, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to commercial burglary and aggravated assault on a family or household member and was sentenced to five years in prison on each count, to run concurrently, fined a total of $1,000 and ordered to pay $340 in court costs.
An additional felony count of possession of a firearm by certain persons stemming from the 2017 assault and additional misdemeanor counts of first-degree criminal mischief and theft of property less than $1,000 stemming from the 2018 burglary were withdrawn as part of the plea agreement.
According to the probable cause affidavit on the assault, on Sept. 29, 2017, around 12:30 p.m., a woman, 30, filed a report with Garland County sheriff's investigators stating her boyfriend, identified as Stevens, had pushed her down several times and pointed a loaded .40-caliber pistol at her face during a confrontation.
She said she was able to get away and call 911 and Stevens fled into the woods with the gun prior to deputies' arrival and could not be located. She said she and Stevens had been living together on Caddo Gap Lane about seven months in a small camper.
She said Stevens became irritated with her when she told him she only made $50 that week and they began to argue. She said he shoved her down on the bed twice and raised his fist like he was going to hit her and then grabbed her pistol from her dresser and pointed it directly at her face. She said she was in fear for her life during the incident.
It was determined Stevens was previously convicted on Oct. 10, 2008, in Montgomery County of a felony count of possession of a controlled substance and was prohibited from possessing or owning a firearm.
Warrants were issued for his arrest and he was taken into custody on Nov. 22, 2017, and later released on $2,500 bond. He pleaded not guilty on Feb. 5 and was barred from future contact with the victim.
According to the probable cause affidavit on the burglary, on March 4, Hot Springs police responded to the Exxon, 1200 Central Ave., to an alarm and discovered a glass window broken. The owner responded and discovered someone had entered the business and got into the cash registers, lock box and ATM using the station's spare keys, taking about $1,000.
Surveillance footage from the business was reviewed and a white male, later identified as Stevens, was seen entering the store and going into the bathroom. He stayed inside the bathroom until the store closed at 1 a.m. and then was seen walking to a rear room and later the camera's cables were cut, ending the video.
Photos of the suspect were posted on social media and multiple callers identified him as Stevens and warrants were issued for his arrest.
On March 26, Stevens failed to appear at a scheduled hearing in circuit court on his assault charge and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He was taken into custody the next day on the burglary and other charges and the failure to appear warrant.
Local on 08/15/2018