Two people were fatally shot by police in separate encounters in Hot Springs and Springdale -- including a shootout in Hot Springs that left a police officer wounded -- in span of less than 24 hours on Monday and Tuesday.
In Hot Springs, a Sherwood parolee with a lengthy criminal history was killed by a police officer in an exchange of gunfire Monday night.
In Springdale, a person armed with a knife was killed Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Jody Lyn Lewis, 45, who previously lived in Hot Springs, was killed in the Hot Springs shooting, which occurred around 9:35 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of Albert Pike Car Wash, 2000 Albert Pike Road, just east of Atwoods, according to an Arkansas State Police release.
"Preliminary witness statements indicate the suspect and police exchanged gunfire after the suspect exited the vehicle brandishing a firearm," the release said, noting the injured officer, who had not been identified, was taken to a local hospital where he was in stable condition Tuesday.
"The deceased was transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, where the manner and cause of death will be determined. An investigative case file will be presented to the prosecuting attorney, who will determine whether the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law," it said.
In an earlier release regarding the traffic stop, Hot Springs police said "the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle produced a firearm and opened fire on officers, injuring one of the officers on scene. Officers returned fire, striking the suspect multiple times."
Hot Springs police asked the Criminal Investigation Division of the Arkansas State Police to investigate the incident.
The Springdale shooting came after police were dispatched about 1:52 p.m. Tuesday to Norfolk Avenue in reference to a person damaging vehicles and threatening people in the neighborhood, according to a news release from Sgt. Matthew Ray.
An officer arrived on the scene and found a person armed with a knife, the release says. The person, whose name wasn't released Tuesday, refused to drop the knife and was shot by the officer, the release says.
The person who was shot was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
The Washington County sheriff's office will investigate the shooting to determine whether deadly force was warranted, according to the release.
The officer involved, who also wasn't identified Tuesday, has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure, the release says.
Lewis was arrested by Hot Springs police on March 21, 2022, driving a stolen car with a gun and multiple drugs inside. He was also charged with resisting arrest after scuffling with officers trying to take him into custody.
He pleaded guilty on Feb. 7, 2023, to felony counts of possession of a firearm by certain persons, because he was already a convicted felon at that point, possession of methamphetamine with purpose to deliver, possession of marijuana with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and theft by receiving for the stolen car, and was sentenced to six years in prison, but later paroled. An additional count of simultaneous possession of drugs and a firearm was withdrawn as part of the plea deal.
According to court records, Lewis was previously convicted in Faulkner County in 2006 of manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by certain persons and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was convicted again in 2014 of felony nonsupport in Crawford County and sentenced to 10 years in prison, all suspended. He also has numerous prior felony convictions out of Oregon, according to the probable cause affidavit on his 2022 arrest in Hot Springs.
According to the affidavit, on March 21, 2022, at around 1 a.m., Hot Springs police spotted a silver Jeep Patriot at the Dodge Store that was determined to have been reported stolen two days earlier in Hot Springs.
Officer Jason Greene saw a white male, later identified as Lewis, exit the vehicle and go in the store. He approached him and tried to detain him, and Lewis refused Greene's commands and began "actively resisting," grabbing at Greene's face.
Greene was finally able to take him to the ground and then into custody as other officers arrived to assist. In searching the vehicle, officers found a loaded 9mm pistol and a bag with 26.4 grams of meth, six baggies with a total of 40.6 grams of marijuana, two boxes of 9mm ammunition, digital scales and other drug paraphernalia.
A computer check showed Lewis had a parole violation warrant and a warrant for unauthorized use of a vehicle after he took his girlfriend's mother's car two weeks earlier and never returned it.
Information for this article was contributed by Ron Wood of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Hot Springs police and Arkansas State police process the scene of a shootout late Monday at Albert Pike Car Wash, 2000 Albert Pike Road, where a parolee was killed and a HSPD officer wounded following a traffic stop. (The Sentinel-Record/James Leigh)
Jody Lyn Lewis (Submitted photo)