2 arrests made in El Dorado gunfire, fights

Suspects face charges related to several shootings, assaults; man, boy hospitalized

An El Dorado police vehicle is shown in this file photo.
An El Dorado police vehicle is shown in this file photo.

EL DORADO -- Two men have been arrested in shootings that occurred early Sunday.

Bobby Ford, 39, faces charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by certain persons, with a penalty enhancement attached related to committing a felony with a firearm, according to a news release from the El Dorado Police Department.

Benjamin Carter III, 24, has been charged with first-degree battery, possession of a firearm by certain persons, committing a terroristic act, possession of marijuana and three counts of aggravated assault, along with two penalty enhancements related to committing a felony with a firearm and engaging in violent criminal group activity.

Ford and Carter remained Tuesday in the Union County jail with bond set at $1 million, according to the jail's online inmate roster.

The shootings occurred Sunday morning and are related to an incident at the fairgrounds, according to the release distributed by Capt. Scott Harwell. Police are seeking additional arrest warrants for others involved in the fights, according to the release.

Police were called three times between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Sunday about gunshots and fights in different places, according to the release.

Babout 2 a.m., police were called to the area of East 19th and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Upon arrival, police found a large group of people leaving the Activities Building at the Union County Fairgrounds.

Fifteen minutes later, police were called to an Exxon gas station at North West and 19th Street regarding a large fight in the parking lot, according to the release.

Police responded to the area of Bruster Street and East Hillsboro around 2:29 a.m. after another call about gunfire and a fight.

While en route to the third fight, police were notified that Brandon Gray, 33, had arrived at Medical Center of South Arkansas with gunshot wounds, according to the release. Police learned later that Gray had been shot during a fight at Southern Classic on East Hillsboro.

Shortly after that, a woman called 911 and reported that she was traveling with another gunshot victim, her young brother, who was unresponsive, and that her vehicle had been shot at as she drove down East Center Street, the release said. The woman said she was headed to Medical Center of South Arkansas, the release said, but before she made it to West Avenue a tire on her vehicle went flat and she stopped at O'Reilly's Auto Parts.

Police and emergency medical services responded to the auto shop, and police secured the scenes where the shootings occurred, the release said.

Harwell said he couldn't provide additional details about the boy's shooting Monday afternoon.

Gray and the shot boy were sent to hospitals in Little Rock.

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