A 23-year-old Sherwood man accused of shooting a romantic rival in a "love triangle" will argue self-defense at his trial, his lawyer said Monday.
Tyron Humphrey Jr. is charged with first-degree battery and committing a terroristic act over accusations that he shot 24-year-old Bradley Christopher Chastain in the leg the day after Christmas. Each charge carries a 20-year maximum sentence. A trial date was not immediately available.
Police say Chastain was wounded during an encounter between the men in front of Chancey Carter's residence at the Parkview Apartments on Manson Road in Sherwood.
Carter, 26, was Humphrey's girlfriend and also has a 2 1/2-year-old son with Chastain. Police said the little boy was inside the apartment when his father was shot.
Chastain's mother told Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson during Monday's bond-reduction hearing that the men are in a love triangle with Carter, who has encouraged their interest.
"She was back and forth between Mr. Humphrey and my son," 45-year-old Sandra Harris of North Little Rock said.
Harris testified that her son could not be in court because he's been hospitalized since Friday for an infection that inflamed his injured leg. Doctors are preparing to operate a third time due to the infection, she said.
Chastain's left leg was shattered by the bullet, and doctors have used steel rod and pins to repair it, Harris said.
Police say at least two shots fired by Humphrey during the Dec. 26 confrontation went through the wall of the apartment of a neighbor, Yelena Howard.
Attorney Lou Marczuk told the judge that Humphrey was protecting himself because he knew Chastain has a reputation for violence. Marczuk pointed to Chastain's criminal history, which includes eight felony convictions, seven for drug possession and one for possession of a defaced firearm.
Chastain had just been released from a 10-month stay in prison about a month before he was shot, according to testimony.
Marczuk also predicted that Humphrey, who did not testify Monday, will be acquitted on the terroristic act charge.
He told the judge that prosecutors will have to prove that Humphrey deliberately fired into Howard's apartment and that police have no evidence he had any motive to shoot at Howard.
But Marczuk could not persuade the judge to reduce Humphrey's $100,000 bail to a more-affordable $10,000 that his family requested.
Deputy prosecutor Luke Daniel argued against reducing Humphrey's bail. The defendant was already wanted on a probation revocation warrant out of Saline County before the shooting, Daniel said.
Daniel said the warrant shows that Humphrey could not be trusted to follow court orders if he were to be released from jail on bond.
Jeremy Farquharson, the arresting police officer, told the judge that police arrested Humphrey on that probation warrant shortly after the shooting when officers came upon him near the scene of the gunfire.
Humphrey was charged in the shooting after police also found a gun in a duffel bag stuffed partly under an apartment trash bin, the investigator said.
The gun was the same caliber as the bullet casings detectives found where Chastain was shot, Farquharson testified. Also in the bag were court papers with Humphrey's name, date of birth and address, he said.
Humphrey was sentenced to five years on probation in March 2016 in Saline County after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine. The charge stemmed from his September 2015 arrest during a traffic stop in which police found both the drug and a pistol on him, court records show. He also has misdemeanor convictions for domestic battery and criminal impersonation.
Humphrey's mother, Latoya Lewis, told Johnson that her son, the oldest of her 11 children, had been distraught at the time of the shooting due to the suicide of his father the previous month.
Humphrey loved to read and was a hard worker who has always held a job, she said. He's been a cook, a Taco Bell manager and has worked at two hospitals, she said.
Metro on 02/14/2017