EL DORADO - An El Dorado man pleaded guilty Thursday in Union County Circuit Court to the November murder of a 25-year-old man.
Joe Edward Perry Jr., 47, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder and received the maximum sentence for the Class A felony, 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. Perry faced 10-40 years or life in prison after he was initially charged with first-degree murder for the Nov. 30 homicide of Jeremy Thompson. Per his plea agreement, he wasn’t prosecuted for a firearm enhancement.
Perry told the court the murder resulted from an altercation he had with Thompson at 810 E. Beech St., saying he intended to scare Thompson with the shotgun he had brought to the residence. He said Thompson grabbed the barrel and pulled the gun to his chest before the shot was fired.
The prosecution told the court it was unclear from witnesses’ accounts if Thompson or another man on the scene grabbed the barrel, telling the court Thompson was shot in the upper torso and died quickly. According to the probable cause affidavit, Perry and Thompson had gone outside to talk. Thompson then came back inside, and Perry went to his residence.Perry’s court appointed attorney told the court the two men had fought, with Thompson getting the best of Perry.
The affidavit said Perry returned minutes later with a 20-gauge shotgun. Thompson lunged at Perry in an ill-fated attempt to disarm him, but Perry retreated two steps and fired one shot at Thompson’s chest. Mortally wounded, Thompson was leaning against the bathroom door, covered in blood, when police arrived. He later died from the wound at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
The affidavit said Perry told police, “I shot him,” and led officers to the shotgun, which he had placed in the trunk of the 1998 Chevy Metro he had driven to the scene.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 16 on 06/23/2013