A Columbia County man was being held without bail Friday on charges of capital murder and other offenses in the shooting death of his estranged wife's boyfriend.
Michael Austin Vaughn, 26, of Taylor was arrested Thursday in the early morning death of Michael Allegrini, 30, of Taylor, according to the Columbia County sheriff's office in Magnolia and an online jail roster. A judge ruled that Vaughn should be jailed without bail.
Vaughn also was arrested on charges of aggravated residential burglary and possession of a firearm by certain persons. The affidavit, by sheriff's investigator Kelly Blair, said Vaughn was a convicted felon in Louisiana, where he began two years of supervised probation in March 2016 for methamphetamine possession.
The shooting took place two days after Vaughn's wife -- Hope Vaughn, 24, of McNeil -- filed a petition in Circuit Court seeking an order of protection, online court records show. An amended, temporary order granting her request was filed Thursday afternoon. The order spoke of the danger Hope Vaughn could face if her husband is released from jail. The order is effective until Jan. 12, when a court hearing is scheduled.
Early Friday, in the seconds after midnight, Hope Vaughn reported the shooting at her home to authorities. Allegrini was taken to a Magnolia hospital where he died at 1:33 a.m. Friday, the affidavit said.
Hope Vaughn told sheriff's deputies and Magnolia police officers that her husband had shot Allegrini, left the home and perhaps was headed to his home in Taylor, near the Louisiana border. A sheriff's deputy later spotted Michael Vaughn in his vehicle, and police took him into custody without incident, the affidavit said.
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"While in transport, Mr. Vaughn made statements to Deputy [Todd] Scott admitting that he shot the victim," the affidavit said. "Deputy Scott found a loaded Glock 9mm with an extended magazine in the truck." The affidavit said Vaughn had driven his motorcycle home and switched to his sport utility vehicle.
Hope Vaughn told Blair, the investigator, that she and her husband had separated around Thanksgiving and that she had moved from their home in Taylor to a mobile home in McNeil. She said she heard "kicking on the door" before the shooting but did not know how her husband got into the mobile home. He did not have a key, she said.
Capital murder is punishable in Arkansas by death or life in prison without parole.
Paperwork has been filled out for an attorney to be appointed for Michael Vaughn.
In the petition for an order of protection, Hope Vaughn checked an item indicating she was afraid of her husband because there was "an immediate and present danger of domestic abuse."
In her affidavit, she cited a Dec. 12 encounter with her husband, who she said was waving a loaded gun and threatening to kill himself. She also spoke of harassing conduct afterward and said, "With his past drug history and now this, I do not feel safe."
State Desk on 12/31/2016