Fugitive Hayes caught in Gravette

Multiagency task force nabs Hayes on wooded public property

By Kate Ward

Posted: October 3, 2009 at 7:52 a.m.

• Print item
• E-mail
• Share
• Tweet

FAYETTEVILLE — A weeklong manhunt for felon on the lam Terry Hayes ended in Gravette early Friday morning.

Hayes, 41, was convicted Sept. 24 by a Washington County jury on charges of aggravated assault on a family member, terroristic threatening, intimidating a witness and felon in possession of a firearm.

While still free on bond, Hayes left the Washington County Courthouse before the jury returned from the sentencing phase of his trial to recommend a total of 55 years in prison.

He was accused of threatening his teenage son with a gun and later threatening the boy's mother, who was a witness in the case.

Hayes will appear before Circuit Judge William Storey at 11 a.m. Tuesday for sentencing. He will also be arraigned on a new charge of failure to appear for sentencing. Upon conviction for failure to appear, he faces enhanced sentencing as a habitual offender of three to 30 years in prison, officials said.

Deputy prosecutor Denis Dean was present when Hayes was apprehended around 3 a.m. Friday. He said it was amazing how all of the law enforcement agencies worked together to nab Hayes.

"This is one that really hit home because we had talked to [Hayes' son] so many times and worked the case," he said.

Tracy Martin, the mother of the teenage boy who Hayes threatened, said that she appreciates the efforts of the Washington County Sheriff's Office in helping find Hayes and in keeping her son and family safe during this ordeal. She said deputies came by their home and called to check on them several items.

"I don't know how to thank them enough," she said. "Now my son does not have to live in fear anymore."

Her son will now be able to go back to school, she said.

Agencies work together

"Terry Hayes is a very dangerous man with a violent past," said Dewaine Allen, a public information officer for the U.S. Marshals Service. "He had a lot of assets that he could have gotten his hands on and been gone. I don't think [his arrest] would have happenedwithout the concerted effort and partnership of all the agencies involved in the Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force."

The task force consists of the U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas Department of Community Correction, the sheriff's offices of Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll counties, as well as the Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Bentonville police departments.

The group tracked Hayes to the Gravette area at approximately 3 a.m. Friday, following an exhaustive manhunt. Various tips and pieces of intelligence led investigators to Hayes' whereabouts. He was arrested while walking in a wooded area.

"He didn't have any drugs or weapons on him, but he did have some cash," Allen said. "I'm not going to speak to how much he had, but it wasn't a substantial amount."

Hayes also changed his appearance by shaving his head. When Hayes was arrested in Van Buren by U.S. marshals on Jan. 26 for allegedly violating conditions of his bond, he dyed his hair black and shaved his mustache. His bond was later reinstated after he and other witnesses testified in a bond hearing that he was not fleeing from authorities.

According to Allen, Hayes initially resisted arrest Friday morning and suffered minor injuries. He was treated at a local hospital and released to authorities.

"He resisted arrest by throwing a couple objects, one being his boot at officers," he said. "The arresting officers essentially wrestled with him, handcuffed him and subdued him. In the process, he suffered a couple minor cuts and scrapes."

Allen said Hayes was arrested on public property, though authorities are investigating whether he was assisted by anyone else. With the magnitude of the case and the resources expended to track Hayes, he said, more arrests may come from the investigation.

"Persons that may have harbored and aided Hayes continue to be an ongoing focus in this investigation," Allen stated in a press release issued Friday.

Investigators said they believe Hayes may have been hiding in various locations throughout Northwest Arkansas and southern Missouri. Hayes was to be sentenced on Sept. 24, following his felony convictions, but fled the area before a sentence could be handed down.

Authorities are still trying to determine where Hayes may have been headed at the time of his arrest.

"The only person who knows where he was going is Terry Hayes," Allen said. "We are all very fortunate, particularly with Hayes' violent past, that there were no other injuries."

After Hayes' disappearance last week, Storey ordered his $15,000 bond revoked and issued a warrant on a new charge of failure to appear.

Hayes was accused on Jan. 19 of threatening to kill his son while holding a gun to his head while the two were at Hayes' residence on Black Oak Road outside of Fayetteville. He was accused on June 23 of calling and threatening a witness - his son's mother - the day before the case was set to go to trial.

The jury recommended sentences totaling 55 years in prison and fines totaling $45,000, but formal sentencing has been delayed as a result of Hayes' fleeing. He faced enhanced sentencing because he hasmore than four prior convictions, including sexual abuse, assault, battery, theft of property, theft by receiving and failure to register as a sex offender.

Hayes was transported to the Washington County Detention Center, where he awaits further adjudication of his case. He was being held on a $500,000 bond Friday evening.

News, Pages 1, 3 on 10/03/2009

Comments

To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.