UPDATE: Woman, 50, allegedly stabbed three people in two counties, tried to stab fourth

Emergency personnel work the scene in the 2200 block of East Grand Avenue Wednesday night where a fleeing suspect was reportedly forced off the road and taken into custody following multiple alleged assaults in Saline and Garland counties. - Photo by Donald Cross of The Sentinel-Record
Emergency personnel work the scene in the 2200 block of East Grand Avenue Wednesday night where a fleeing suspect was reportedly forced off the road and taken into custody following multiple alleged assaults in Saline and Garland counties. - Photo by Donald Cross of The Sentinel-Record


A 50-year-old woman is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly stabbing three people in two counties, attempting to stab a fourth, and leading law enforcement agencies on a vehicle pursuit before being forced off the road on East Grand in Hot Springs Wednesday night.

Jeanine Downin, 50, who is not a resident of Arkansas, reportedly first stabbed a Hispanic male at the construction site for a Big Red Valero gas station at the intersection of Highway 128 and Highway 70 (East Grand) in Garland County shortly after 5 p.m., according to a news release from the Saline County Sheriff's Department obtained Thursday.

Downin then drove to the Big Red Valero at 11580 Highway 70 in Saline County where she allegedly stabbed a second man in the chest while he was airing up a tire. Then she reportedly stabbed a female employee of the Valero in the upper arm outside the store before fleeing the scene.

All three stabbing victims were reportedly treated at hospitals and later released, the release said.

After fleeing the Valero, Downin allegedly approached a private residence on Crossroads in Saline County and attempted to stab another female before fleeing again on Highway 70 back into Garland County.

Downin was spotted by Arkansas State Police troopers who pursued her vehicle along with Garland County sheriff's deputies and Saline County deputies.

The pursuit continued onto Spring Street and back onto Grand Avenue, eastbound away from Hot Springs, when state police used a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT, maneuver on the vehicle, which rolled off the side of the service road near Ferrellgas, 2250 E. Grand, at around 5:43 p.m. Wednesday.

Downin was taken into custody and transported to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs for treatment where she was reportedly listed in critical condition late Wednesday, Garland County sheriff's Deputy Courtney Kizer, the department's public information officer, said Thursday. Downin's condition Thursday was not known.

Downin had attempted to purchase a firearm within the last two weeks but was denied, the release said.

"The system worked and prevented an ineligible person from possessing a firearm," Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright said in the release.

Wright noted he was "very thankful for the Arkansas State Police, Garland County Sheriff's Department, Hot Springs Police Department for their assistance and to all the first responders."

He said the Garland and Saline county sheriff's departments would be conducting dual investigations into the incident.

Downin will be charged with two counts of first-degree battery and aggravated assault for her actions in addition to any other charges from the incident, the release states.


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