Arkansan who cut man's throat on Oaklawn gaming floor gets 20 years in prison

Jermaine Levert Hayes
Jermaine Levert Hayes

An Arkansas man who cut the throat of another man during a confrontation at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs has been sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison, the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported Thursday.

Jermaine Levert Hayes, 29, pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree battery in the April 3, 2016, attack that medics said nearly killed the victim.

Authorities say Hayes had previously dated the victim's wife while she and the victim were separated, but the couple later got back together, the Sentinel-Record reported.

On the day of the attack, the victim — described as a childhood friend of Hayes — and his wife were playing electronic games at Oaklawn when Hayes threatened in a text to confront him, prosecutors said.

A probable cause affidavit cited by the newspaper shows Hayes showed up around 2:30 a.m., got into an argument with the victim's wife and later approached the victim and cut his neck with an unknown object, "just" missing the victim's jugular vein or carotid artery. Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro said EMTs testified about "how close it came to being a murder charge."

Hayes was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Click here to read the full story in the Sentinel-Record and read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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