FORT SMITH -- A Sebastian County Circuit Court jury began hearing testimony Monday in the first-degree murder retrial of a man charged with killing a man he claims he shot in self-defense.
Denver Pennington of Hackett was charged in January with shooting Arthur McIntyre, 33, with a rifle outside a home at 3001 Alabama Ave. in Fort Smith.
The prosecution, led by deputy prosecutor Alison Houston, contends that Pennington had no justification to shoot McIntyre because he was unarmed and there was a fence between them.
Pennington claimed that McIntyre had a knife and was charging him and that he feared for his life. He said he pointed the rifle at McIntyre and warned him not to come closer before firing the fatal shot.
Jurors sat through a weeklong trial in September but couldn't reach a unanimous decision. After the jury of seven men and five women deliberated for six hours over two days, jurors informed Circuit Judge Stephen Tabor they were deadlocked and he declared a mistrial.
Another jury of seven men and five women listened to testimony Monday from the owner of the home at 3001 Alabama Ave., Alexander Parrett.
Parrett said that late on Jan. 25, Pennington and his girlfriend, Cymanthia VanMatre, arrived at the home and asked if they could stay there because they had nowhere else to stay. Parrett agreed to allow them to sleep on his couch for a small weekly amount.
Parrett said he had been drinking vodka since that afternoon and was sleeping when McIntyre arrived shortly after Pennington and VanMatre. McIntyre left with a roommate of Parrett to buy a bottle of whiskey, which Parrett, McIntyre and the roommate drank.
Parrett said he was drunk when he went to sleep in his bedroom. He said he was unaware of any confrontation between McIntyre and Pennington because he was passed out and the music in his home that night was loud.
In the trial in September, Pennington contended that McIntyre was threatening him and pulled a knife on him, after which Pennington and VanMatre packed their things and began to leave.
Parrett said he awoke and saw through his window Pennington and VanMatre loading up their car and went out see why they were leaving.
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He said he was standing next to Pennington by the driver's side of the car when McIntyre emerged from the house and walked toward them.
Parrett said in a statement to police after the shooting that because of the alcohol McIntyre consumed, he was "talking s*** and walking 10 feet tall."
Pennington pulled a hunting rifle from the car, pointed it at McIntyre and warned him not to approach, Parrett said. Then Pennington shot McIntyre once.
Pennington and VanMatre then got into Pennington's car and drove away. He was arrested the next day in Alma.
Fort Smith paramedic Phillip Howard testified he arrived at the scene at 2:19 a.m. Jan. 26 and found McIntyre was dead.
According to testimony in Pennington's defense, McIntyre did not want Pennington and VanMatre to stay at Parrett's home and told Parrett he thought the two would take advantage of him and fail to pay. Pennington's defense said McIntyre broke some of Pennington's property, threatened him with a knife and told Parrett to get rid of them.
When Pennington and VanMatre were attempting to leave, according to testimony in the September trial, McIntyre charged at them with a knife that VanMatre testified he pulled from the hoodie he was wearing.
Police photos showed McIntyre lying near the fence wearing a T-shirt, gym shorts and socks. Police never found a knife.
The trial resumes at 9 a.m. today.
Metro on 12/06/2016