BENTONVILLE -- The woman accused of killing her grandmother was arrested again, this time in connection with intentionally hitting a bicyclist with her vehicle.
Andrea Lea Wilson, 26, appeared in court Wednesday for a bond hearing after her arrest on felony charges of aggravated assault and battery.
Possible penalties
Andrea Lea Wilson could be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole or sentenced to death if she’s convicted of capital murder. She faces six years each if convicted of tampering, aggravated assault and battery.
Source: arkansas.gov
Wilson was already being held on $750,000 bond in the Benton County Jail. She is charged with capital murder and tampering in connection with the killing of her grandmother.
Circuit Judge Robin Green set Wilson's second bond at $100,000.
Ruby Ross, 81, was found dead May 16 in her Pea Ridge home. Wilson is accused of hitting her grandmother with a hammer, according to court documents.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, detectives with the Benton County Sheriff's Office found a bloody hammer with white hair in an outhouse behind Ross' house. The hammer was in a trash bag with rubber gloves with blood on them, a large butcher-type knife and bank statements with Andrea Wilson's name on the documents.
Bentonville police officers went to a vehicle-pedestrian accident at 1:42 a.m. May 15 at Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard and Southwest Maple Road, according to court documents.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a police officer found a gold Honda Accord stuck on top of a large boulder and a severely damaged bicycle.
Jonathan Hampton told prosecutors he was riding on the sidewalk on a bicycle with a headlight and taillight, and as he crossed the intersection in the crosswalk he was hit by a car, according to the affidavit. Hampton said he fell, heard an engine "rev" and the car came back at him and he got up and ran, according to the affidavit.
Hampton told police he saw a woman in the car yelling and wagging her finger at him, according to the affidavit.
Hampton said he got behind a large rock at the Links Apartments and kept his distance from the woman as she got out of her car, according to the affidavit. The woman's demeanor and posture appeared to be angry, but then there was a change in her posture and eyes and she asked Hampton for help, according to the affidavit.
Wilson told police she lost control of her car that caused her to drive into the crosswalk and hit Hampton, according to court documents. She said she "blacked out" and woke up after she struck the boulder and didn't realize she hit Hampton with her car, according to court documents.
Police didn't find any signs that Wilson was intoxicated, according to court documents.
Joshua Robinson, deputy prosecutor, requested the $100,000 bond.
Robinson said Wilson is accused of killing a family member and is now accused of crimes involving a random person on the street.
Shane Wilkinson, Wilson's attorney, told the judge his client was issued a citation for reckless or careless driving after the accident. Police officers investigated the accident and determined Wilson should be issued a ticket, Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson said police were aware of the accident and she was arrested on the felony charges only after she was accused in the murder case.
"This is revisionist history," Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson told the judge Wilson was going to remain in jail on the $750,000 bond so a second bond wasn't necessary.
Robinson said he was seeking the additional bond because of concern for the public's safety and the likelihood of Wilson's conviction on the latest two charges.
The judge set the bond and ordered Wilson not to have any contact with Hampton.
"She has no idea who he is," Wilkinson said. "That's not going to be a problem."
Wilson is scheduled to appear in court again July 16.
NW News on 06/21/2018