BENTONVILLE -- Prosecutors have dismissed a felony charge against a Rogers man who said he was wrongly arrested for shooting a friend wearing a bullet-resistant vest, even though he repeatedly told deputies he never pulled the trigger.
"It's been a waste of my time and the court's time," Christopher Hicks said of his 2019 arrest. "I never should have stepped in front of a judge."
Hicks, 38, was charged with aggravated assault, but last week prosecutors dismissed the felony charge.
Charles Eugene Ferris, 51, of Rogers and Hicks were arrested in March 2019 after deputies believed the two men shot each other while wearing a bullet-resistant vest, according to court documents.
The incident gained national attention after their arrests.
"My name was dragged in the mud, and I'm considered King Redneck," Hicks said Wednesday.
Ferris admitted to shooting himself while wearing the vest and prosecutors decided to dismiss the case, Hicks said.
Benton County sheriff's office deputies began to investigate the case after receiving information about a man being shot while wearing a bullet-resistant vest, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
A sheriff's deputy interviewed Ferris on March 31, 2019, at Mercy Hospital in Rogers, according to the affidavit. Ferris said he was shot six times, once in the chest and five times in the back, while protecting a man he called his "asset," the affidavit said.
Ferris later told the deputy Hicks shot him once while he was wearing the vest, according to court document. Ferris said he then shot Hicks five times while he was wearing the vest, and none of the rounds penetrated the vest, according to the affidavit.
Hicks said Ferris shot him about five times while he was wearing the vest, but Hicks said he refused to shoot Ferris, who then shot himself while wearing the vest.
Hicks said Ferris made up the first story to keep him out of the incident, but Ferris, along with his wife, eventually told deputies Ferris shot himself. Hicks said he repeatedly told deputies he didn't shoot Ferris.
Ferris went months ago to the prosecutor's office to report he shot himself, but Hicks said it still took months before prosecutors dismissed his case.
"I told everyone the truth that night," Hicks said.
Hicks said he allowed Ferris to shoot him while wearing the bullet-resistant vest. Hicks said he wasn't concerned for his safety because the gun was a .22-caliber weapon and the vest was steal-plated. Hicks said the bullets couldn't penetrate the vest, and he knew Ferris, a military veteran, was an expert marksman.
"I've seen him shoot a quarter-sized target seven times from 50 yards away," Hicks said.
"Initially, it was believed both Charles Ferris and Christopher Hicks shot each other while wearing bullet-proof vests," Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith said. "Further investigation revealed that while Charles Ferris did shoot Christopher Hicks, Mr. Hicks didn't shoot or threaten to shoot Mr. Ferris. Accordingly, we dismissed the case against Mr. Hicks."
Hicks said not only was he wrongly arrested, but he also was a victim of excessive force when a deputy in the Benton County Jail broke his arm. The deputy screamed at him and threw him to the ground and told him that he (Hicks) liked to shoot veterans and ended up breaking one of his arms, Hicks said.
Hicks said he had to have two surgeries on his arm and now has a steal plate, along with four screws, metal brackets and wire to hold his elbow together. He said he's in constant pain and is disabled from the injury for the rest of his life.
Lt. Shannon Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, declined to comment on the case.
Ferris pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a certain person. He was placed on five years' state supervised probation and sentenced to 27 days in the Benton County Jail.