The owner of a local trailer park arrested last week after a two-hour standoff with Hot Springs police faces multiple additional felony charges after a search warrant allegedly uncovered 17 guns, half a pound of marijuana and more than $49,000 in cash in his residence.
John David Barron, 57, of 3921 Central Ave., was arrested shortly after 7:30 p.m. Thursday at his residence on a felony warrant for first-degree terroristic threatening, punishable by up to six years in prison, based on allegations he threatened to shoot his former girlfriend, who also lives at Timbercrest RV and Mobile Home Park.
He was later released on $2,500 bond and is set to appear July 31 in Garland County District Court.
Additional felony charges of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, punishable by up to life in prison, maintaining a drug premises, punishable by up to 10 years, and possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to six years, stemming from the search warrant, had been filed against him on Tuesday.
Barron was free on $25,000 bond after his arrest the night of July 9 on a felony charge of first-degree terroristic threatening after allegedly threatening to shoot police officers who responded to Timbercrest after Barron's neighbors said he was threatening people and being disorderly.
According to the probable cause affidavit, as officers attempted to make contact with Barron at his residence at 3921 Central Ave., he "became upset and threatened to shoot the officers' eyes out" and at one point entered his residence and fired several rounds from an unknown weapon.
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, Cpl. Joey Williams told The Sentinel-Record.
During the standoff, Barron entered and exited his house multiple times with the rifle and pistol, but did not raise his weapons toward officers, Williams said.
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 "brief struggle" followed, and Barron was taken into custody without further incident.
The scene was secured and the next morning, July 10, detectives obtained and executed a search warrant on Barron's residence and allegedly found 17 firearms "laid all throughout the residence," multiple rounds of ammunition, multiple bags and containers of marijuana, approximately half a pound, and $49,639 in cash.
The affidavit notes Barron is the owner of Timber Crest Corp., which is listed as the property owner of the RV and mobile home park and the residence at 3921 Central Ave.
Prosecutors requested a bond of $100,000 on the additional drug charges, but Barron's attorney, Clay Janske, filed a motion to allow the original $25,000 bond to cover the new charges. He argued it was not Barron's fault that prosecutors waited to add additional charges after he had already made bond on the original terroristic threatening charge.
Janske noted Barron was a resident of Garland County with "strong family ties to the community," no prior criminal record and that he was self employed and "his presence is necessary for the daily operations of his business."
Regarding the events leading up to the standoff, Janske said Friday Barron had been arrested earlier that morning on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after becoming irate and arguing with some of his tenants. After his release on that charge, he had returned to the trailer park and became irate again with some of his tenants.
Janske said Barron had been put on a new prescription medication about a week earlier and he believed his actions were in part a reaction to his medication. He said when police showed up that evening, Barron assumed they were coming to arrest him again for disorderly conduct.
"When they showed up with guns drawn, he just totally freaked out," Janske said. "He lost it and obviously overreacted."
Janske noted officers had found the marijuana and money after going into Barron's residence but waited until several days later after he had bonded out to file the additional charges. He said he met with Garland County Circuit Court Judge Marcia Hearnsberger and prosecutors for an "informal bond hearing" and she basically agreed it was unfair to add the additional bond after the fact and left his bond at $25,000.
As for the additional terroristic threatening charge Barron was arrested on Thursday, Janske said it stemmed from an alleged incident a month ago that Barron's ex-girlfriend "suddenly decided to file against him" after his arrest on the other charges.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the ex-girlfriend, 58, alleged Barron threatened her on June 7, around 4:30 p.m. She said she and Barron had been in a relationship for about a year and a half and she had gone to his house that day to drop off her rent payment.
She said she had been given a key to his house and used it to take her payment inside. She couldn't find Barron, so she put her check in the payment drop box. As she walked outside, she said she heard Barron "yelling and cursing" from inside his shop next door.
She said Barron came running toward her yelling as she tried to explain why she was there. As she started to leave, she said she realized she had left her phone inside his house so she went back inside to get it. As she started back out the door, she said Barron confronted her and "was yelling at me for being in his house."
She said he told her if she took anything or damaged anything "she would be sorry" and told her to leave, so she did.
On June 10, around 8 a.m., she said Barron came to her residence and knocked on the back door. She said she saw he had something in his hand so she activated the video recorder on her phone before facing him.
She said he accused her of deleting files from his computer and told her, "Don't ever come to my house and surprise me. I'll shoot your (expletive) (expletive)!" She said he threatened her with an eviction notice and threatened to "take my house and everything from me."
The ex-girlfriend reportedly filed a complaint about the incident and requested an order of protection against Barron on Friday, July 13, which was granted on Monday. A warrant for Barron's arrest on the terroristic threatening charge was issued on Wednesday and he was arrested Thursday.
Barron is set to appear Aug. 7 in circuit court on the drug charges.
Local on 07/21/2018