A local man was arrested Monday night following a two-hour standoff with Hot Springs police that ended when officers struck him with a "less than lethal soft impact round" after he fired shots inside his home at Timbercrest RV & Mobile Home Park, 3921 Central Ave.
John David Barron, 57, who lists 3921 Central Ave. as his address, was arrested outside the residence at around 10 p.m. Monday and charged with terroristic threatening, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison.
Barron remained in custody at the Garland County Detention Center Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court.
According to Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Joey Williams, officers had responded to the RV and mobile home park earlier in the day in reference to a disorderly person, later identified as Barron, who was arrested and later released on a $500 bond.
"Later on (that) afternoon, apparently Mr. Barron had bonded out of jail and came back over here. At 7:24 (that) evening, we received a phone call from concerned neighbors that (Barron) was once again threatening people and being disorderly," Williams said.
Once officers arrived, Barron reportedly retreated inside the home and at some point retrieved a long rifle and a pistol, Williams said.
Barron was reportedly the only occupant of the house at that time and officers evacuated the surrounding area due to the presence of other firearms in the home, he said.
Although Barron never raised his weapons in officers' direction, he did begin to make threats to "shoot (their) eyes out," Williams said, noting that detectives later located multiple firearms, including at least one high-powered rifle, inside the home.
"A short time later, while we were trying to get negotiators and more officers on the scene, Mr. Barron fired several rounds from within the residence. It is unknown if those rounds were directed at officers of if they were just inside the residence. That's still under investigation," Williams said.
The department's SWAT team and crisis negotiators were called to the scene and used several different negotiation tactics over the course of the next two hours, including having Barron's relatives attempt to talk him into coming out of the house unarmed, according to Williams.
"Our negotiators worked with the family in an attempt to get Mr. Barron to come out and surrender himself. We also tried to reach him via cellphone, drop phone, and by using the loud hailer on our MRAP," he said.
During the standoff, Barron entered and exited his house multiple times with the rifle and pistol, but did not raise his weapons toward officers, according to Williams.
When Barron exited the residence again, SWAT team members fired a "less than lethal impact round," which Williams described as having a soft impact, at Barron and simultaneously released a police dog. A news release from the department said a "brief struggle" followed, and Barron was taken into custody without further incident.
Before being taken to the detention center, Barron was transported to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs for treatment of minor injuries. No other injuries were reported.
"I don't know if alcohol or drugs were involved but its possible some sort of breakdown occurred," Williams said.
According to Garland County assessor records, Timbercrest is owned by Timbercrest Corp. Arkansas secretary of state records list a John David Barron as the president of the corporation.
"This situation turned out the way we wanted it to be. Nobody is hurt and he's safely in custody. This is always how we want these situations to turn out," Williams said.
Williams noted this was the second incident involving a suspect firing rounds with officers on scene in about two months. Both times, officers were successful in apprehending the suspect using nonlethal force and avoiding injury to officers.
"I think this speaks volumes for the training our officers take and how they deal with the stress. They are able to think clearly in those situations and it just speaks volumes about their training," Williams said, adding that the last officer-involved shooting occurred in Hot Springs was in 2004.
Local on 07/11/2018