FAYETTEVILLE -- Dekota Harvey, charged with capital murder in the death of a woman, is now accused of killing his cellmate about midnight Tuesday in the Washington County jail.
Harvey, 24, was moved to a different jail cell at 8:33 p.m Tuesday because he told a deputy that he was afraid for his life, according to a news release from the Washington County sheriff's office. Harvey specifically asked to be moved to cell R-21.
Jail checks were completed at 11:25 p.m. on cell R-21, and everything appeared to be normal, according to the news release. At 12:23 a.m., a jail deputy again checked the four-man cell, and found Harvey waiting at the cell door and Luis Cobos-Cenobio lying on his back on the cell floor beside his bunk bed.
Harvey of Fayetteville told the deputy that he killed Cobos-Cenobio, 30, because Cobos-Cenobio wanted him to do it, according to the news release.
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The jail deputy called for backup, opened the cell door and started CPR on Cobos-Cenobio. An ambulance crew arrived at 12:30 a.m. but was unable to resuscitate Cobos-Cenobio and ended its efforts at 12:57 a.m.
The body will be sent to the state Crime Laboratory for autopsy.
Kelly Cantrell, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said initial indications were that Cobos-Cenobio was strangled. No weapons were found in the cell, she said.
Sheriff Tim Helder said Harvey was in T Block, an open, barracks-type section, when he requested to be moved. Helder said R Block is more of an administrative segregation area, with four-man cells.
Harvey and Cobos-Cenobio had been in R Block cells on different occasions during the time they were incarcerated with no reported incidents, according to the sheriff's office.
Cantrell said R-21 is a four-man cell, and four detainees were in the cell at the time of Cobos-Cenobio's death. She said there are no cameras in the cell.
Maj. Randall Denzer, who oversees the jail, said moving inmates to avoid fights and other problems is not unusual. He said the staff keeps a list of inmates who are deemed "incompatible" and works to keep them separated. Denzer said Harvey asked to be moved to R-21 and such a specific request is unusual.
"Going to a specific cell, we don't do that a lot," Denzer said. "But if we can avoid a fight or something we try to do that."
Denzer said the staff conducted hourly checks on the cell Tuesday night in accordance with normal routine.
The incident is being investigated by the sheriff's office, Helder said. He said he contacted the Arkansas State Police and discussed the situation, and it was agreed that because the crime scene had been changed because the body was removed and because the sheriff's office investigation was underway, it should continue.
Helder said this is the first homicide in the jail since it opened in 2005. He said the sheriff's office would have to check records to see if any homicides have occurred in previous county jails.
Helder said his office will ask that Harvey be charged with capital murder.
"We feel it fits the criteria," he said.
Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett had no comment Wednesday on possible charges against Harvey.
Harvey was arrested in March in the shooting death of Elizabeth Dawson. He pleaded innocent to capital murder in Washington County Circuit Court. Harvey is set for trial Sept. 9.
Dawson died from a single gunshot wound in her chest, according to police reports. Courtney Willie, Harvey's girlfriend, was shot in the leg during the March 14 incident at 900 N. Leverett Ave., Apt. 363. Police said Willie had kicked Harvey out of the apartment earlier that evening, and he had returned to gather some of his belongings when the shooting took place.
According to reports, Willie called 911 and said Harvey was "hanging around outside acting like a psychopath." She asked for officers' help in getting the key to the apartment away from him. While she was on the phone with dispatchers, she said Harvey was trying to get back into the apartment. A short time later, a woman is heard yelling in the background, followed by a gunshot, according to a probable cause affidavit.
When officers arrived, they found Dawson shot in the chest and unresponsive, and Willie shot in the leg.
Cobos-Cenobio of Springdale was being held on an attempted capital murder count related to a Nov. 11, 2018, incident where shots were fired at police officers during a car chase in Tontitown and Springdale. No officers were injured.
The incident started after Washington County sheriff's Cpl. Brett Thompson tried to pull over a Saturn traveling north on South Barrington Road in Tontitown for a traffic violation.
Cobos-Cenobio stopped the car on Steele Road. When Thompson got out of his patrol vehicle, Cobos-Cenobio opened his car door, began shooting and Thompson returned fire, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. Cobos-Cenobio fled, then stopped a short distance later and let a female passenger out of the car before speeding off again.
A Springdale police officer located the car north of Lake Fayetteville. Cobos-Cenobio again shot at officers, according to a Springdale Police Department news release.
Members of the Fayetteville Police Department and Arkansas State Police joined the chase that led into Fayetteville and back to Springdale. Then, Cobos-Cenobio stopped the car and surrendered to police.
According to a report filed in Washington County Circuit Court, Cobos-Cenobio had said during a mental evaluation that he had attempted suicide several times and had attempted "suicide by cop."
In one instance, he reportedly soaked his blankets, mat and clothes in water to freeze himself. He later told the jail staff that he did not feel suicidal but continued to make suicidal statements at other times during his incarceration.
This year, on Jan. 22 and again on Feb. 11, he asked that his medications be increased because he felt depressed, according to the report.
The report concluded that Cobos-Cenobio "does not have mental disease or defect" and was able to understand the court proceedings and assist his attorney in his case.
Cobos-Cenobio had been on suicide watch while at the jail but was removed from that status in December 2018, according to information from the sheriff's office.
A Section on 08/29/2019