A Little Rock man will face a homicide charge after a man he beat up at a convenience store died from his injuries, authorities said Wednesday.
Saline County sheriff's deputies originally served a warrant for 33-year-old Phillip Belcher's arrest Dec. 20 in connection with a fight at Dollar General, 20799 Arch Street Pike in Hensley, court records show.
Authorities were reportedly called to the store about 7 p.m. Dec. 11 and found Stanley Kaiser, 54, with injuries to his eyes and mouth.
Belcher admitted to getting in a verbal argument with Kaiser that escalated to him hitting the 54-year-old "only once," the affidavit states. He was initially charged with second-degree battery.
Authorities said Kaiser suffered multiple skull fractures and was placed in intensive care. He died Friday, according to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obituary.
Belcher was taken back into custody Wednesday, according to the Saline County jail online inmate roster, and was released a few hours later.
The county prosecutor's office said Belcher will face a homicide charge, though the degree had not yet been determined as of Wednesday afternoon.
