According to information from Stone County Circuit Court, two men rode up on horseback to a location on Highway 14 West in Fifty-Six, Ark., had a verbal altercation with the owner of the property, and then one of the men allegedly pulled a handgun and shot in the direction of the landowner.
Deputies from the Stone County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene and were informed by witnesses that one of the men on horseback, identified as Leland Ray Smith (pictured above, left), 63, had a verbal altercation with the landowner.
Witnesses said Smith, at the end of the confrontation, began to ride off, but then turned around and allegedly fired the handgun at the landowner, according to court documents.
The landowner told deputies the bullet hit the concrete walkway, with debris ricocheting from the shot and striking a 7-year-old boy at the scene in the leg. Deputies said the child suffered no injuries, just redness in the area where the debris struck.
Smith and the other horseback rider, identified as Justin Outcalt (pictured above, right), 43, fled the scene on horseback.
Deputies later found the two men, still on horseback, on the edge of Smith’s property on Gaylor Road. At the time, deputies say they witnessed Smith throwing a 22-caliber pistol down near a fence row on the county road.
According to the court information, deputies say Smith also tossed a pill bottle toward his house and into the front double doors of the barn-style residence. When authorities asked Smith about the reason for the confrontation, Smith said the landowner “…was mad about his girlfriend being at my house, so I shot at him,” court records state.
The pistol used in the shooting was recovered by deputies. After a search warrant for the residence was issued, a small amount of marijuana along with two pills recovered from the pill bottle thrown into the house by Smith were found. Also found in Smith‘s bedroom were four hunting rifles and a shotgun. All of the guns were loaded.
Smith has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault; possession of a firearm by a certain person (a previously convicted felon); terroristic threatening in the first degree; and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Smith was placed in jail on a $20,000 bail and later bonded out. Outcalt was found to have a felony warrant for absconding. He was still in custody at the Stone County Jail, as of July 20.
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