LITTLE ROCK — The Ward businessman set to appear before a judge this morning after his Saturday arrest in the fatal shooting of an employee was upset about the victim’s sales performance, according to investigators.
Christopher Reynolds, 34, of Ward, admitted to detectives on Nov. 9, the day 21-year-old Ernest Hoskins was shot and killed, that he was “bantering back and forth” with his employee about why the young man’s “sales figures for the week were so low,” arrest affidavits said.
The two were in Reynold’s 26 Deer Run Drive home in Ward for a business meeting that afternoon with three other sales associates working for Reynolds’ company, Reynolds Global Dynamics Group Inc.
According to investigators from the Arkansas State Police, who were called in to investigate by the Ward police chief and Lonoke County prosecutor’s office, witnesses said that during the argument, Reynolds grabbed a pistol and shot Hoskins.
Reynolds told detectives that after Hoskins told him he “needed to get off [his] couch and work as well,” he grabbed a Desert Eagle .44 Magnum, pointed it at Hoskins, and pulled the trigger, but it didn’t go off.
“I then pulled the slide back and a round went in the chamber. I tried to de-cock the hammer on the pistol by pulling the trigger and holding the hammer as it moved forward. The gun went off and struck [Hoskins] in the face,” the affidavit said.
Reynolds was arrested at his business’ office on Saturday and charged with first-degree murder, as well as two counts of aggravated assault, and has remained in the Lonoke County jail since his arrest.
When asked why investigators waited more than two weeks after the shooting to arrest Reynolds, a state police spokesman said the decision to file charges Saturday was made by the county prosecutor’s office.
Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham said that the delay was necessary because investigators and prosecutors were “covering the bases.”
“Sometimes it takes a little while ... most murder things don’t start out at a business meeting,” Graham said. “Sometimes they’re arrested immediately and sometimes you have to get everything together ... the worst thing you can do is rush.”
Members of Hoskins’ family, including his 25-year-old wife of four months, Nikki Hoskins, and his mother, Monica Hoskins, said they don’t understand the delay.
Last Friday, the family held a news conference that criticized the delays in the arrests. Monday, the family was joined by attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the family of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin, on the steps of the state Capitol to call for justice and support in the wake of Ernest Hoskins’ shooting.
Crump said that there are several questions that need answering.
“Police have police powers. They arrest people every day,” Crump said. “This was a senseless gun tragedy that never should have happened ... and people confuse an arrest with a conviction. ... The arrest is only the first step on the long journey for justice.”
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/27/2012