Authorities said a Mountain Home man went to a woman’s front door Monday night and pulled out a knife after a 4-year-old child answered.
According to a news release, the woman at the house on Buzzard Roost Cutoff told the Baxter County sheriff’s office that Rhonni Hooton, 36, was leaning against the door when the child answered, appearing to be intoxicated. When the woman approached the door to see what he wanted, Hooton displayed a knife, the release said.
Hooton mumbled incoherently, and the woman shut the door, the release said. She called 911 and watched Hooton thrown the knife into a ditch, where a deputy recovered it.
Deputies arrived and searched the area, finding Hooton in front of a house on nearby Cochran Drive, which is the street he lives on, the release said. Unsteady, he was holding onto a mailbox to stay upright. The release said he had blood on his hand, shirt and pants.
Unprompted, Hooton said he didn’t pull a knife on anyone, deputies said.
They arrested Hooton, and he was charged with aggravated assault, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of second-degree child endangerment and public intoxication, the release said. He was booked into the Baxter County jail and is being held on $15,000 bond.
