A local teen was arrested Monday on felony warrants stemming from allegations he threatened the mother of his child over Snapchat, a messaging app, in December, including sending photos of firearms in his possession.
Reginald Dwane Hamilton Jr., 19, of Hot Springs, was taken into custody shortly after 1:30 p.m. and charged with possession of a firearm by certain persons, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and first-degree terroristic threatening, punishable by up to six years.
Hamilton, who is reportedly a convicted felon who pleaded guilty to a felony count of theft by receiving on June 25, 2023, according to the affidavit, was later released on a $7,500 bond and is set to appear April 19 in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Dec. 26, Hot Springs police responded to a residence on Richard Street regarding threats made and made contact with a female and a witness. The female said she had received a phone call from her baby's father, identified as Hamilton, who was upset she and the baby were at that residence.
She said Hamilton had been notified by "another individual" she was at the residence and Hamilton called her through Snapchat threatening her and other people in the house.
The witness was reportedly present during the phone call during which Hamilton threatened to show up at the residence, "kick the door down, take the baby, and smoke everyone in the house."
Hamilton allegedly indicated he knew the address and was "on his way" there and sent the address in the chat to confirm he knew her location. A short time later, Hamilton was allegedly posting photos of firearms on his Snapchat under his registered username.
Hamilton allegedly called again while officers were still there so they were able to confirm he was calling from his Snapchat account. The girlfriend asked him to leave her alone and stop contacting her several times, but Hamilton reportedly continued to ask why she was there with their child.
He reportedly stated "this is not what you want" to her multiple times. Screen shots of the conversation and photos of the firearms were sent to patrol officers to add to the case.
The girlfriend reportedly told Detective Thomas Plummer the firearm in the screenshots is "an actual working firearm" and confirmed it was Hamilton seen in possession of it in the photos. Warrants were later issued for his arrest.