CONWAY -- The Conway Police Department confirmed that two people have been arrested in connection with a violent altercation over the weekend at a family entertainment center that resulted in severe injuries to a Black teen.
Chucky Don Hartwick, 53, of Heber Springs turned himself in and was charged with one count of second-degree battery and four charges of aggravated assault, according to an arrest affidavit.
A woman, Kelli Kennedy, whose age and hometown were not listed in the affidavit, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication and has a court date scheduled for April 22.
An emergency meeting of the NAACP's Faulkner County branch was held Monday night at the McGee Center in Conway to address the incident, which president LaTonya Chante Duncan called a hate crime.
According to the Conway Police Department's "calls for service" report on its website, it received a disorderly conduct call from Malys Entertainment's address, 1040 Maly Curve, at 11:24 p.m. Saturday.
It then received a "supplement report call" at 12:53 a.m.
According to a police affidavit, the incident began around 9:30 p.m. when a group of adults leaving Malys made comments about a juvenile having his hands down the front of his pants. The juvenile later said he was trying to keep his hands warm.
Comments were made to the group of juveniles, including racial slurs, and a verbal argument ensued, the affidavit said.
A man identified in the affidavit as Cody Sotherland shoved a juvenile and the group of juveniles began hitting him.
As the fight escalated, the affidavit said, the people who were with Sotherland got involved and multiple punches, pushes, shoves, and kicks were exchanged.
Based on video evidence, the juvenile -- referred to as MG -- was apparently injured after receiving hits from Kelli Kennedy.
"Photos circulating online show something falling from (Kennedy's) hand," the affidavit said. "We have obtained clearer video where at this time it can be confirmed to be a lanyard swinging from (the juvenile's) pocket, not something that falls out of (Kennedy's) hand. There is no indication on video that we currently have that (Kennedy) has a weapon in her hand at the time of these strikes."
After the initial fight, Malys employees separated the groups, who were still verbally arguing, the affidavit said.
That's when a truck driven by Hartwick, whose wife was outside of Malys, pulled to the side of the building's entrance, and Hartwick exitedthe truck and walked down the sidewalk, appearing to approach a juvenile with red hair. He then pushed and struck another juvenile who was standing on the sidewalk. The juvenile who had been apparently injured by Kennedy then punched Hartwick in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. After a short scuffle on the ground, the group was separated.
Both groups then began walking to the rear of the building toward a parking lot as they continued to push and shove.
"Simultaneously, Chucky Hartwick stops his truck beside the group and exits his vehicle," the affidavit said. "He gets a hard PEX tubing from the back of his truck. The tubing has metal fittings on each end. He is seen again approaching (two juveniles) JM and MG who back up due to the presence of the tubing. The verbal altercation continues between the parties as (Hartwick) approaches juveniles by a vehicle (BDl and BD2). The juveniles at the car were not approaching (Hartwick) or physically threatening him. At this time he swings the tubing three times striking multiple people (BDl, BD2, MG, and a Malys staff member). The tubing is 4-5 ft long, very rigid, and has large metal fittings at each end. Hartwick swung the tubing over his head and downward with force."
According to the affidavit, the Malys employee suffered injuries to his face and head.
Other employees were able to take the tube from Hartwick, who continued to throw punches.
The affidavit said most of the juveniles scattered and were not able to be interviewed by police.
When the juvenile referred to as MG was asked how he suffered his injuries, he said he was unsure "but did mention the pipe as a possibility."
"We now know the injury to MG's lip happened prior to the incident with the pipe," the affidavit said. "There are videos of Michael Kennedy with an object in his hand which many people claim to be a knife and may be. In the videos it appears that he hides an object in Kelli Kennedy's pocket after the first altercation at the entrance of Maly's. No one on scene claims to have been injured by the knife only that the knife was seen."
Michael Kennedy is not further identified in the affidavit.
When asked if more arrests were expected, a Conway Police Department spokesperson said "the case isn't closed and is still being investigated."
Since Saturday night, social media was filled with videos of the encounter and its aftermath, including video of a white woman repeatedly yelling a racial slur.
"We understand the sensitive nature and the overt racial overtones of the altercation that occurred over the weekend at Malys," said city spokesperson Bobby M. Kelly III in a statement Monday night. "The actions and words used do not reflect Conway, our community or our values. We anticipate the findings from the Conway Police Department as they uncover the facts in their investigation."
Instead of attending Monday night's NAACP meeting, Mayor Bart Castleberry and Conway Police Department Interim Chief Chris Harris attended a separate meeting at an undisclosed location with 15 to 20 city ministers to address the situation.
On Monday afternoon, Malys Entertainment posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying it was "deeply saddened by the violent incident that occurred Saturday night.
"We unequivocally condemn the acts that took place and will not stand for any form of violence or racism towards our staff or patrons."
The statement said that the business was "fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation" and it was taking necessary steps to "ensure Malys remains a safe and enjoyable place for all."
At the NAACP meeting Monday night, Duncan, the county chapter's president, said, "This was a hate crime, nothing less. This was a hate crime, this was a hate crime."
The meeting was attended by more than 100 people of various ethnicities, but mostly Black citizens.
Among them were the mother and other family members of the teen who suffered the injuries, which resulted in his having to get 12 stitches to a section of his lip.
The mother spoke, but declined to be publicly identified.
She emotionally described the FaceTime conversation she had with her son after the fight.
"All I saw was blood on the FaceTime, it was horrible," she said. "And I don't want anybody to experience this."
She added: "Everybody has a child that may make a mistake or get in trouble. I expected him to be having a fight with a child or something. But no, these are adults, 40s, 50s and 60-year-olds, and I'm just saying, protect your children.
"If you want them to go somewhere, you may want to sit in the parking lot to protect them. Because they're not safe."