Prosecutor rules fatal shooting at North Little Rock Wal-Mart was self-defense

Man died outside the big box store

The Pulaski County prosecuting attorney's office said Thursday that no charges will be filed in a fatal shooting outside a Wal-Mart in North Little Rock earlier this year.

Phillip Lamont Smith, 32, killed Robert Leon Scales, 44, in self-defense during a confrontation outside the business May 23, according to deputy prosecutor John Johnson. Police responded about 3:24 a.m. to the Wal-Mart at 4450 McCain Boulevard and found Scales lying on the east side of the parking lot with a gunshot wound in his torso.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Smith was detained at a Popeye's Chicken restaurant nearby after he called 911 and admitted shooting Scales. Officers reportedly found a handgun and several shell casings in Smith's Chevrolet Silverado.

Investigators determined that Scales and Smith were in an altercation outside the business over Geneviva Gurley, a Wal-Mart employee whom both men had dated, according to police reports. Scales reportedly pointed a gun at Smith, and Smith shot him.

"[Smith] was confronted with deadly force," Johnson said. "He didn't have an opportunity to retreat, and so he used his gun to defend himself."

Police said they found multiple bullet holes in Smith's pickup. A Ford Mustang in the parking lot was also struck by gunfire.

Scales was lying on his stomach, dead, with a .38-caliber revolver in his hand when officers arrived at the scene, according to police.

Police initially provided few details on the killing, citing an ongoing investigation in which no arrests had been made. Thursday was the first time police released reports that identify Smith as the shooter and Gurley as a witness.

Gurley, 26, told investigators that she left work with Smith, her ex-boyfriend, during a break, according to the reports. When the two returned, they found Scales, the father of her child, parked outside.

"Gurley told Phillip [Smith] to leave but he backed into a parking lot on the east side of Wal-Mart," an officer wrote in the reports. "Gurley told me Robert [Scales] pulled his vehicle in front of Phillip's vehicle to block him in. Gurley stated she exited Phillip's vehicle to tell both of them not to fight but Phillip shot Robert ... ."

Smith was not injured in the confrontation.

Court records show Smith has no criminal history.

Scales, according to court records, was convicted of murder in 1994 in the fatal shooting of David Eskridge, 21. Police said Scales and another man, Nathaniel Thomas, then 20, killed Eskridge as part of a gang initiation in North Little Rock.

A man accused of ordering the killing, Rodney Spencer, was also convicted in the case. Police testified that Spencer used his position as a Wrightsville prison boot camp sergeant to recruit youths to join the Indianapolis Death Crips gang.

Scales was released from prison on parole six years after the slaying.

Metro on 12/09/2016

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