Court records obtained Thursday show a planned drug deal at a Little Rock parking lot ended with gunfire that left a 34-year-old man shot six times.
Little Rock police have arrested James Anthony Patton, 33, in the shooting of Fredrick Millner, who was left in critical condition after the Jan. 25 shooting in the parking lot of a shopping center on South University Avenue.
Millner was shot six times, with one of the bullets hitting his spine, according to an affidavit obtained Thursday. The documents say Millner, less than a week after the shooting, identified Patton in a photographic lineup as the person who shot him, and said he was meeting the man to sell him narcotics.
Police arrested Patton earlier this week and charged him with first-degree battery, possession of firearms by certain persons and unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle.
Officers were called to the parking lot of 3901 S. University Ave. Jan. 25 and found Millner sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle, according to a police report.
He was taken to UAMS Medical Center. Hospital personnel described his condition as critical, the report said. Millner's condition Thursday was unclear.
After the shooting, a detective received an anonymous phone call telling authorities to "look at a Facebook profile page with the name James Patton as a potential suspect," the affidavit says.
On the page, the detective found a post referring to Patton as "Boosie," according to court documents. Another post also referred to Patton as "Boosie," the documents say.
Less than a week after the shooting, on Jan. 31, detectives went to UAMS Medical Center and met with Millner. He reported that "he was meeting 'Boosie' at the location of the scene to sell him narcotics," according to the documents.
Millner told police he got into the front passenger side of "Boosie's" SUV .
"Mr. Millner said 'Boosie' pulled a gun on him, took the narcotics, and began shooting him inside the SUV," according to the court documents.
Millner said he got out of the vehicle and the gunman continued to shoot at him, according to the affidavit.
Millner said he had only met with the man a few times previously and did not know "Boosie's" real name, the records show.
One witness, court records show, told police she saw Millner leave a large "black" SUV, then heard multiple gunshots. The woman said the SUV sped off and the victim got into his car, court records show.
Police noted in the affidavit that a post from June 2016 shows Patton "standing next to a dark blue SUV similar in description of the witnesses' statements."
Metro on 02/09/2018