Man killed in fight over baby

Death makes 42nd homicide this year for Little Rock

An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday after a fight over an infant Saturday night at a Little Rock home left a man dead and a woman and a 14-year-old girl injured.

It was Little Rock's 42nd homicide of the year.

Police arrested Michael Mitchell at his home at 1504 Pine St. on Sunday morning and charged him with first-degree murder and first-degree battery. The search for three other assailants continues.

Troy Holmes, 37, was found in a puddle of blood on the floor of a home in the 7200 block of Stevenson Drive where officers responded to a shots-fired call about 10:55 p.m. Saturday, according to the police report.

Holmes' wife, Shenell Holmes, told officers that Tatiana Curry, of 5 Fairmont Drive, came to the residence to pick up her infant child and was accompanied by her sister, Anginay Curry, and two unidentified black men. When Troy Holmes went outside to ask the visitors to leave, Shenell Holmes said she heard gunshots, then her husband came inside and collapsed on the floor.

Tatiana Curry and the three other subjects entered the home and a fight ensued. One of the unidentified black men hit Shenell Holmes in the head with a gun, and her 14-year-old daughter was shot in both of her legs. The bullet entered and exited through both of her thighs, and one of the subjects also struck her in the head, causing a sizable contusion.

Although the infant was forcibly taken from the grasp of a resident at the home, that person was able to regain control of the child before the four assailants fled the scene.

The teenager was transported to Arkansas Children's Hospital, where she was later released. Shenell Holmes refused treatment. Troy Holmes was transported to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he was pronounced dead at 11:39 p.m.

Prior to the shooting, police were called to the residence for a disturbance between Tatiana Curry and Roderick Gulley, the infant's father. After the shooting Saturday night, officers responded to a call at an undisclosed Wal-Mart of a man -- later identified as Gulley -- running through the store with a baseball bat.

When officers arrived, Gulley said that Curry and the other three assailants had chased him inside the store, but they fled before officers arrived.

Mitchell remains in custody at the Pulaski County jail and bail has not been set. A spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department said an update on the case will be given at 9:30 a.m. today.

State Desk on 12/29/2014

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