Mountain Pine man sentenced to federal prison for 2019 shooting

A Mountain Pine man was sentenced to over 13 years in federal prison Thursday in connection with a shooting last year on Summit Drive on West Mountain.

Cedric Allen "Ced" Wiley, 30, was sentenced to 13 years and 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm and one count of discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to a news release from David Clay Fowlkes, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Wiley was indicted on the charges by a federal grand jury in June 2019 and pleaded guilty in August 2019 in U.S. District Court in Hot Springs.

On Feb. 21, 2019, at around 7 p.m., the National Park Service responded to a shooting along Summit Drive of West Mountain in which the victim had reportedly been shot in the back. Responding NPS officers were able to identify a possible suspect based on information provided by the victim at the scene and later at the hospital.

The victim later confirmed the person who shot him was Wiley. The victim said he had been riding around in a vehicle with Wiley and others when they stopped at the Hot Springs National Park. While there, Wiley turned around, drew a weapon from his person and fired the weapon as the victim ran toward the shoulder of the road. The victim was hit in the back and went over the embankment, and as he ran into the woods and down the embankment, Wiley continued to shoot.

Wiley left the scene and the victim was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.

The shooting prompted the closure of the summit and trails on West Mountain that night and most of the next day as the investigation progressed.

Three days later, investigators interviewed Wiley, who reportedly admitted he contacted the victim to arrange a meeting. Wiley stated he was upset with the victim, and admitted he shot the victim with a firearm he had obtained prior to the shooting.

"Investigating and prosecuting violent crimes such as this one is a top priority in the Department of Justice and the Western District of Arkansas," Fowlkes said in the release. "We will continue to work relentlessly to make our communities safer by ensuring that violent criminals are prosecuted using the full extent of our federal and state resources."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Achorn prosecuted the case for the Western District.

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