A $100,000 secured bond has been set for a man charged with second-degree murder of his father at a residence west of the Pine Bluff city limits.
Ryan T. Lawrence, 19, appeared before Jefferson County District Court Judge John Kearney on Monday in a probable cause hearing. Prosecutors say Lawrence was involved in a domestic dispute that led to a fight with his father, William Bryan Lawrence, 48, at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday on the 6600 block of CC Road.
The suspect's sister reportedly told authorities her brother and father had gotten into an altercation upon Ryan's arrival but was unsure why the fight occurred, prosecutor Beth Carson read from a probable cause affidavit. The sister reportedly witnessed Ryan throw William to the ground and repeatedly stomp him in the face, Carson said.
Deputies did not take a statement from Ryan that evening, saying he was intoxicated, but the next day, Jefferson County sheriff's officers said Ryan indicated he saw an individual in the company of his father that Ryan didn't want there. Ryan reportedly indicated he struck his father with an open hand and closed fist in the face and that he struck his father "several times to the head" while he was on the ground, according to authorities.
"Ryan said he was intoxicated during the incident, and he was certain his father was intoxicated as well," Carson read from the affidavit.
William Lawrence was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center for his injuries and then transferred to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, where he was pronounced dead at 9:38 p.m. His body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory to determine the cause of death.
Photographs of William Lawrence's body at the UAMS hospital indicated he suffered multiple bruises in his head, as well as several lacerations on the top of his head, authorities said.
It was discovered that during the incident that Ryan wore boots, which were collected as evidence.
An off-duty police officer who volunteers at the Watson Chapel Fire Department took Ryan Lawrence into custody without incident, Carson said. Jefferson County sheriff's deputies then transported Ryan Lawrence to the Dub Brassell Detention Center, where he remained at the time of the hearing.
Ryan Lawrence does not have a criminal history. He requested the court appoint an attorney.