Accused of shooting two in Little Rock, Wilmot man says it was self-defense

Judge drops bail in party-gunfire case to $800,000

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court gavel


A 24-year-old Wilmot man accused of shooting his cousin and her boyfriend at a child's birthday party in Little Rock only fired his rifle in self-defense after the boyfriend shot at him first, the defendant's lawyer said Thursday.

It's the second shooting police have linked to Tyler Devon Stanley. Public defender Julie Jackson said Stanley was provoked in this instance and that his $1 million bail should be significantly reduced because the wounded boyfriend, Dewayne Ledbetter, has refused to cooperate with police.

Ledbetter was shot in the leg while Stanley's cousin, Justice Sharoyal Stanley, was struck twice. Stanley is charged with first-degree domestic battering, first-degree battery, felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Police found evidence that at least 15 shots had been fired, with 11 spent rifle casings discovered in Tyler Stanley's car and four 9mm casings found outside the house. Jackson said the driver's side door and windshield of Stanley's car were struck by bullets.

"This sounds like the shootout at the OK Corral," Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims said, saying he'd only reduce bail by $200,000 to $800,000.

Senior deputy prosecutor Jeanna Sherrill told the judge Stanley and Ledbetter have had an ongoing dispute and that on Aug. 22, the day of the shooting, Ledbetter was with Stanley's cousin at the birthday party of a child related to the Stanleys at 5401 Keats Drive.

She said Tyler Stanley drove by the Keats Drive house several times before stopping to confront Ledbetter, and that when the men began to argue Stanley got a rifle out of his car and started shooting. The prosecutor said police have video of Stanley later parking the car and taking the rifle out of the vehicle.

Court records show Stanley has been on probation since September 2016 when he pleaded guilty to forgery.

He is already awaiting trial on gun possession and drug-trafficking charges stemming from a September 2019 arrest in Little Rock. He also has a trial pending on first-degree battery charges over accusations that he and another man Nicholas Fowler, 21, of Little Rock shot 49-year-old Allen Geiger during a January attack at the Skyroad Gas convenience store on West 65th Street.

In May, Stanley was court-ordered to surrender to authorities by another circuit judge, Chris Piazza, who was shown a video of the convenience-shooting by prosecutors as proof that Stanley had violated the conditions of his arrest in the drug and gun case. Stanley did not surrender for more than four months until Sept. 9, about two weeks after the birthday-party incident, records show.

Piazza described the recording as "shocking." The video shows the pair, together and separately, beating and bludgeoning the older man with their guns as he fights back. Geiger, who was shot in the hand and suffered deep cuts in his head, managed to get the guns of each of his assailants at different times during the struggle, although his attackers recovered their weapons. Geiger also shot Fowler in the leg, authorities said.

Geiger told investigators he'd traded some drugs for the use of a car earlier in the day and that he had been at the store getting gas for the vehicle. Geiger said he was approached inside by an armed man who accused him of stealing the car during a drug deal, according to a police report.

The man asked him to step outside but Geiger declined, telling police he offered the man the car keys, but when the man would not leave him alone he lunged for the gun. The gun fell to the floor and broke into pieces, one of which the attacker used to hit him over the head, Geiger said.

When a second armed man joined in the attack, Geiger said he tried to grab that man's gun and was shot in the hand but was also able to shoot the second man in the leg, the report said. Geiger said he tried to keep firing but the gun jammed. Both of the men were strangers to him, Geiger told police.

Investigators recognized Fowler on the video and found him at a hospital that same day with a gunshot wound. Stanley was one of Fowler's visitors when detectives arrived.

Police reports show Stanley initially denied being at the store, telling police he had taken Fowler to the hospital from Fowler's home. Shown a photo of himself with a gun, Stanley admitted he had been at the store with Fowler and "things went sideways," but denied shooting Geiger, according to police reports.


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