Charge upgraded against man in shooting death on North Patterson

Strickland
Strickland

A second-degree murder charge filed against a local man in June after he claimed he accidentally shot a woman to death was upgraded to first-degree murder last week based on additional information developed in the case.

Levar Leron Strickland, 42, who has remained in custody since his arrest June 22 with his bond now set at $1 million, was initially charged at the time of his arrest with criminal use of a prohibited weapon and possession of a defaced firearm, each a felony punishable by up to six years in prison, stemming from his alleged use of a sawed-off shotgun with the serial number filed off in the shooting of Stephanie Malicoat, 40, inside their residence at 315 N. Patterson St.

On June 24, additional felony charges of second-degree murder, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of minor, punishable by up to six years, were filed because children were reportedly present at the time of the shooting.

On Aug. 8, the murder charge was upgraded to first-degree, punishable by up to life in prison, with a new probable cause affidavit filed with additional information. Strickland is set to be arraigned on all the charges in Garland County Circuit Court on Sept. 3. A gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case was issued on Aug. 9.

According to the affidavit, on June 22, shortly before 7:30 p.m., Hot Springs police responded to the North Patterson residence after a 911 caller reported his stepfather, identified as Strickland, had shot his mother and was now lying on top of her refusing to get off. Strickland allegedly told his stepson not to call 911 because "he was 911."

When the officers arrived, they reportedly found Strickland still lying on top of Malicoat in their upstairs bedroom and noted she had a gunshot wound to her right side with an exit wound across her body on the left side. She was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later.

Strickland allegedly told officers he accidentally shot her with a sawed-off shotgun, which was located nearby. He was taken to the police department where, after being read his rights, he gave a more detailed statement to Detective Scott Lampinen.

He reportedly said he had purchased the shotgun for $50 "a while back" because they were having issues with a person in the neighborhood. That night, he said he was lying on the bed next to Malicoat while she was watching television. He said he had come into the bedroom and got on the bed trying to "get amorous" with her.

He said he saw the gun and grabbed it and noted the gun is never loaded and shouldn't have been loaded because he was the only one "that messes with it." He said he was kidding around with Malicoat, saying, "Pow, pow, pow," while squeezing the trigger and it went off and struck her.

Lampinen says he asked Strickland specifically if he had put a shell into the gun at any point and Strickland said, "Hell no. No sir," and kept insisting the gun should not have been loaded.

It was determined the shotgun was illegal because the barrel was cut down to just under 12 inches and all the markings and serial numbers had been filed off. The affidavit notes it was a 12-gauge shotgun with a single-action hammer trigger, which requires the shooter to pull the hammer back to a locked position before it can be fired.

There were five juveniles in the home at the time of the shooting, along with one adult witness. On June 23, the five juveniles were each interviewed at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center and it was determined three of the children were in the other upstairs bedroom adjacent to the room where the shooting occurred, approximately 8 feet away.

One juvenile allegedly stated that prior to the shooting Strickland was mad at Malicoat and "throwing her clothes onto the floor." The juvenile said Strickland told Malicoat she should "just go kill herself." The juvenile said he went into the bedroom and saw his mother lying on the bed on her side watching television while Strickland was sitting on the edge of the bed "talking to himself" and holding the shotgun.

The juvenile said he watched Strickland load the gun and then Strickland told him to go back into the other bedroom. A short time later, the juvenile said he heard a shot and ran into the room and saw Malicoat had been shot.

It was also reportedly learned from the interviews with the juveniles that Strickland brandished the shotgun numerous times in their presence and told them recently he could kill eight people at the same time because the shells he used had eight pellets in them. The shotgun was reportedly loaded with buckshot at the time of the shooting.

The adult witness in the house reportedly told police that about two weeks prior to the shooting Strickland had threatened to shoot Malicoat during an argument.

At the time of the shooting, police had issued a release stating it was believed to involve a domestic dispute and that the victim was the girlfriend or wife of the shooter.

Local on 08/17/2019

Upcoming Events