A Marvell man shot at a Little Rock restaurant in March recognized his assailant, leading to the defendant's arrest within a day of the shooting, a Pulaski County prosecutor said Tuesday.
Cledia Graves, 30, who was shot outside a Waffle House on South University Avenue, told detectives he has known defendant Jamarcus Hughes for more than 10 years, deputy prosecutor Josh Standerfer told Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright at a bail hearing for the 23-year-old Hughes.
Graves was also able to pick out Hughes' picture from a police photographic lineup, the prosecutor said.
Hughes had been held without bail because he was on probation for drug possession and theft when he was arrested.
Wright set bail at $252,300 at the end of the 13-minute hearing Tuesday. Hughes is now charged with rape, first-degree battery, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He is scheduled to stand trial in August and September.
Detective Paige Cline testified that surveillance video from the restaurant did not capture the shooting, but that Hughes can be seen on the recording in the Waffle House parking lot.
At the time of the shooting, Cline had already been investigating Hughes over a complaint that he had raped the mother of a friend a week earlier, she told the judge.
In that case, the 40-year-old woman said Hughes, a friend of her son, came to her residence at the Chateau De Ville apartments on Colonel Glenn Road and asked to spend the night, the detective testified. The woman allowed him to sleep on her couch but was awakened later by Hughes raping her, Cline said. She began screaming for help so loudly she woke up the upstairs neighbor, the detective said.
A hairdresser, the woman grabbed a straight razor and slashed at Hughes, and they struggled over the blade before Hughes ran from the apartment, the detective said, telling the judge that the upstairs neighbor, who also knows Hughes, saw the defendant running away.
The Police Department's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team and U.S. marshals put the home of Hughes' girlfriend at the West Wood Apartments on Nandina Circle under surveillance and were watching when he got into a car that pulled up to the residence the day after the shooting, Cline said.
Officers stopped the car and arrested Hughes. Inside the vehicle was a black bag containing a 9mm pistol, the clothes Hughes had been wearing at the Waffle House, Xanax tablets and suspected cocaine, the detective said.
The driver told police he had been called by Hughes' girlfriend, Erica Price, to give Hughes a ride to the doctor, but when Hughes got in the car, he asked to be driven to Helena-West Helena, saying he had shot someone, the detective said. Hughes has lived in that area before, Cline told the judge.
Hughes was sentenced to five years of probation in December after pleading guilty to felony theft and possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, court records show. The charges stem from his Aug. 26, 2014, arrest by Little Rock police at Willow Creek Apartments on Geyer Springs Road with drugs and measuring scales, along with a 2012 Chevrolet pickup and tools, all stolen from owner Dan Lauderdale.
Hughes also has a history of mental illness, including a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and marijuana abuse, according to court records.
In November 2013, while living in Helena-West Helena, Hughes was committed against his will to a mental institution for 45 days by court order after his psychiatrist reported Hughes had been hospitalized three times in one month for "frank psychosis and mania."
Dr. Brian Hyatt reported Hughes had spent three weeks at the hospital because of his "remarkable psychosis," with symptoms that included homicidal ideation, auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions, including the belief that he is Jesus.
The following month, his psychiatrist at the State Hospital had his commitment extended by up to six months, reporting that a depressed and frequently crying Hughes, his mental illness exacerbated by the recent death of a close relative, was "still very confused about his mental illness and drug use," court filings show.
Hughes had referred to himself as God, appeared to be experiencing auditory hallucinations and needed prompting to taking care of himself, the petition by Dr. Linda K. Parker stated.
Metro on 06/24/2015