A 23-year-old man told police he fatally shot his father during a disturbance in November then moved the body to a shed with the help of a friend, according to an affidavit.
Police arrested James Daniel Sparkman on Thursday in the death of his father, 53-year-old James Danthon Sparkman, who was fatally shot at a southwest Little Rock home on Nov. 14.
The son, who is identified as Daniel Sparkman in an affidavit, told police his father was armed with a sawed-off shotgun and threatened his girlfriend, the court document said.
Daniel Sparkman faces one count of first-degree murder.
[INTERACTIVE: Map details all Little Rock killings so far this year]
Lt. Steve McClanahan, a Little Rock Police Department spokesman, said investigators are looking into other charges related to the killing and are working with the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney's office.
Daniel Sparkman had been previously released without charges in November after investigators reviewed witness statements and evidence from the scene, police said.
But "digital forensic evidence" led investigators to issue a warrant for his arrest, McClanahan previously said.
Little Rock police responded to 7417 Vega Drive on Nov. 14 after they received a tip from the Saline County sheriff's office that a homicide occurred at the residence, the affidavit said.
Investigators arrived at the home in southwest Little Rock and found Daniel Sparkman, who told a detective that he had shot his father after the 53-year-old man threatened his mother, the affidavit said.
The son also told the detective that his father's body had been moved to a shed, according to the document.
A detective found a dead body in a wooden shed in the backyard.
Daniel Sparkman told police his father had banged on his mother's door with one hand and held a sawed-off shotgun in the other, the document said.
The son told police his girlfriend, Haley Duvall, came out of the room and complained about him arguing with his father, according to the affidavit.
Daniel Sparkman said his father threatened to shoot his girlfriend and pointed the firearm at her, according to the affidavit.
Duvall walked back into the room and heard about three shots, but did not see the shooting occur and did not see James Sparkman with a gun, according to the affidavit.
"Ms. Duvall stated that she considered calling the police, but everyone was just too panicky on what they should do," the court document said.
Sandra Sparkman, the mother of Daniel Sparkman, told police that she was in her bedroom when her ex-husband showed up at around 10 a.m. and began to beat her bedroom door, according to the affidavit.
She opened the door and saw her ex-husband fall to the floor, the affidavit said.
He had a "homemade sawed-off shotgun in his hand," according to the document.
According to the affidavit, Daniel Sparkman moved the shotgun to the kitchen and Sandra Sparkman said she put the shotgun in her bedroom, where investigators found it during a search of the home.
Daniel Sparkman said he left the house after the fatal shooting and picked up his friend, Christopher Sliter, according to the affidavit.
Sliter told police that there was a group of people at the scene and he told them Daniel should call the police, according to the affidavit.
He said somebody in the group said it was too late, adding that police were not going to believe the shooting was in self-defense, the affidavit said.
Sliter told police he helped carry the body to the storage shed in the backyard, according to the affidavit.
"[Sliter] stated that they sat around playing Xbox One afterwards," according to the document.
Daniel Sparkman told investigators that he was scared to call police "because he smokes weed," according to the affidavit.
In January, the affidavit said, police served a search warrant on James Daniel Sparkman's cellphone.
On the cellphone, police said they found text messages between Sandra Sparkman and her son, the affidavit said.
"This could be the day we have to take him out," Sandra Sparkman texted her son at 9:56 a.m. the day of the fatal shooting.
Daniel Sparkman texted back "Y," according to the affidavit.
According to the court document, Sandra Sparkman replied to her son that the man in question had made threats against her.
Metro on 02/22/2017