1 pleads guilty in Spa City slaying

He gets 18-year term in ’12 shooting; 2 others face charges

HOT SPRINGS -- The first of three suspects charged in the 2012 shooting death of a Hot Springs man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter and other charges in Garland County Circuit Court.

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Adrien Deshun Gardner, 22, who has remained in custody in lieu of $15,000 bond since his arrest Nov. 21, 2013, also pleaded guilty to residential burglary and felony failure to appear in unrelated cases and was sentenced to 18 years on each count, all to run concurrently. Court costs in all three cases were expunged for time served.

Also charged with manslaughter in the case is Cameron Dion Wiley, 21, who was arrested Dec. 20, 2013, and later freed on $15,000 bond. He is to stand trial Oct. 14.

Bobby Lee Nutt III, 22, who was arrested Nov. 8, 2013, and remains in custody in lieu of $76,000 bond, is charged in the case with hindering apprehension or prosecution, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison. He is set for a hearing Monday in circuit court.

All three are charged in the death of Joshua T. Williams, 20, of Hot Springs. Williams' body was found shortly before 3 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2012, in the bushes in the area of Huckleberry and Torrence streets, just west of the intersection.

Deputy prosecutor Trent Daniels said Tuesday that the shooting appeared to have been accidental as Gardner was "waving a gun around" at a party and "there was never an allegation it was intentional but strictly reckless."

During Tuesday's change-of-plea hearing, when asked what he had done, Gardner said, "I killed my best friend."

Daniels noted that all the other people who were there at the time of the shooting had criminal histories and "would not have been credible witnesses," so they opted for the manslaughter charge.

State Desk on 08/14/2014

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