A Hot Springs man was arrested on a murder charge late Thursday after allegedly pushing his brother out of a moving vehicle, causing his death, reportedly following an argument over corn dogs.
Richard Dean Ammons, 57, of 409 Beard St., was taken into custody at his residence and later charged with second-degree murder, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
He was being held on a $10,000 bond and appeared via video Friday morning in Garland County District Court where he pleaded not guilty to the charge. A felony review hearing to determine if the charge will be bound over to Garland County Circuit Court is set for Dec. 2. Judge Ralph Ohm issued a gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case.
According to the probable cause affidavit, at around 7:18 p.m. Thursday, the Garland County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call about a man lying in the 800 block of Owl Creek Cutoff in Royal. The 911 caller said the man was bleeding and LifeNet was dispatched to the scene.
Sheriff's Cpl. Jon Lane and Deputy Charles DeLaHunt arrived and found the man, later identified as Johnnie Ammons, 55, lying in the roadway and noted he was bleeding from his arm. Johnnie Ammons allegedly told Lane his brother, identified as Richard Ammons, had thrown him from a Jeep and he had "broken his back and killed him."
Lane asked the victim what he and his brother had been arguing about and the victim allegedly stated they had been "arguing over corn dogs." Johnnie Ammons was transported to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs where he was pronounced dead. The affidavit notes he had multiple scrapes and bruises along his body.
Deputies located Richard Ammons at his residence and brought him to the sheriff's department for questioning. After being read his Miranda rights, he stated he had gone to his brother's house after work to take him to the store.
He said he drove them to Brady Mountain One Stop, 7214 Albert Pike Road, and then to the Dollar General store across the road at 7301 Albert Pike. Richard Ammons stated that "a lot of times" his brother would stay in his Jeep and "continue to drink beer."
He said the two of them got in an argument, but he couldn't remember what the argument was about. Richard Ammons allegedly stated that "maybe I pushed him out of the Jeep."
Local on 11/02/2019