BENTONVILLE -- A Pea Ridge man accused of a double murder in Pine Bluff is being held on $500,000 bond in the Benton County Jail after being accused of injuring three jail deputies.
Matthew Ferry, 29, was arrested Dec. 23 in connection with three counts of battery and impairing the operation of a vital public facility. Prosecutors have not filed charges against him.
Jail deputies were conducting a search inside one of the jail pods when Ferry told deputies he needed use the restroom, according to a probable cause affidavit. Ferry was allowed to use the bathroom but was advised not to flush the toilet. He was escorted to the bathroom, and a deputy reported seeing him grab something out of his clothes, throw it into the toilet and flush it. The deputy handcuffed Ferry and escorted him from the bathroom, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit accuses Ferry of elbowing one deputy in the jaw after he was released from the handcuffs, according to the affidavit. Ferry is accused of punching a second deputy and also hitting a third deputy.
Two of the deputies were taken to the Mercy emergency room, treated for their injuries and released, according to the affidavit. The third deputy did not require medical attention, according to the affidavit.
Ferry was arrested in September in Rogers in connection with the killings of Samuel Stenberg and Courtney Clary in Pine Bluff. He's charged with two counts of capital murder.
Ferry is also charged as a habitual offender with possession of a firearm by certain persons. He pleaded not guilty to the charge Tuesday at his arraignment before Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green.
Police found a gun in Ferry's waistband when he arrested in September, according to court documents.
The judge scheduled Ferry's jury trial in the firearm case to begin May 21.