Authorities have released the identity of a Garland County sheriff’s deputy who shot a suspected car thief Tuesday.
The suspect, meanwhile, has been moved from the hospital to jail, the sheriff's office said.
According to a news release, Sgt. Jeremy Simpson opened fire after deputies responded to a report of a possible stolen vehicle at a car wash in the 3900 block of Arkansas 7 near Hot Springs Village early Tuesday.
When deputies spotted a white Mitsubishi Galant that matched the description of the stolen vehicle, occupied and sitting in a car wash bay, they moved their own vehicles in order to block its escape, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Authorities said the driver of the Galant, identified as 22-year-old Dillon Ellis, reversed the car into a patrol unit, then drove toward Simpson. The deputy opened fire on the vehicle, striking Ellis once, deputies said.
Ellis, who is from Hot Springs, was taken to a local hospital before being booked into the Garland County jail, the release stated. He faces charges of possession of a firearm by certain persons, theft by receiving, criminal use of prohibited weapon, theft by receiving and two counts of aggravated assault. Court records show Ellis pled guilty to fleeing in 2016, and again in a separate crime in 2017.
Simpson has been placed on standard administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, according to the release.
The sheriff's office did not provide an update on the condition of the deputy transported to a local hospital after the deputy's vehicle was rammed. Simpson was uninjured.