HOT SPRINGS -- A Mountain Pine man charged in a shooting death in January pleaded innocent Friday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Matthew Lashawn Babb, 28, who has remained in custody in lieu of $250,000 bond since his arrest Jan. 23, appeared with his court-appointed attorney, Chief Public Defender Mark Fraiser, and pleaded innocent to second-degree murder, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Babb was set to be arraigned March 16, but the hearing was postponed because of an ongoing capital-murder trial in Judge John Homer Wright's court. A gag order was issued in Babb's case, and he is now set to stand trial May 18.
Babb was arrested after a short manhunt when Nicholas Rodriquez, 21, of Hot Springs was found dead at a residence at 1215 Hobson Ave. shortly after midnight. It was the first reported homicide of 2015 in Garland County.
According to the affidavit, a Hot Springs police officer with a K-9 unit was on patrol in the area of North Patterson and Baxter streets when he heard two gunshots. A few seconds later, he saw a silver Jeep Cherokee leaving the area at a high rate of speed. He made a traffic stop on the vehicle, and the driver fled on foot, leaving three passengers behind.
Soon after, a second Hot Springs police officer was flagged down in front of 1215 Hobson Ave., about two blocks from the traffic stop, and was advised that someone had been shot inside. The officer found Rodriquez, who was dead with at least one gunshot wound.
The first officer and his canine partner began a track from the Jeep to find the driver. The dog led officers to the rear of Albert Pike Tire, 100 Albert Pike Road, where Babb was found hiding under a car and was taken into custody.
Officers also found two handguns inside a dumpster at the same location.
A Hot Springs police detective interviewed Babb, who stated he had gone to the Hobson Avenue residence to collect money that Rodriquez owed to him. Documents described him as saying the two of them got into an altercation, during which he shot Rodriquez with a revolver and then fled in the Jeep. He also admitted to throwing the handguns into the dumpster, including the revolver he used to shoot the victim, the documents said.
Babb also had a warrant for failure to appear on a previous charge, which has since been adjudicated through time served. An earlier police report indicated the motive for the shooting was "drug related."
State Desk on 03/25/2015