A Little Rock woman accused of fatally shooting her ex-boyfriend Monday said she'd been beaten and threatened by him on several occasions in the past, according to court filings.
Gloria Tate, 58, pleaded innocent in the case Wednesday morning in Little Rock District Court. She faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Johnny Lee Winfield Jr., 40.
District Judge Alice Lightle set bail for Tate at $100,000. Tate was being held at the Pulaski County jail late Wednesday.
Police were called to Tate's home at 2202 Blackwood Road about 5:39 p.m. Monday. Officers reportedly found Tate standing outside and Winfield lying on the floor inside the residence with a gunshot wound in his chest. Tate later told police she and Winfield had been in a "scuffle," according to a police report.
Winfield was taken to Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock, where he died from his injuries.
The police report lists two witnesses in the killing: Raquel Lavonda, 68, and Winfield's father, Johnny Lee Winfield Sr., 67. Lavonda told police that Tate had locked a rifle in the trunk of her Nissan Altima after the shooting. Investigators believe that the rifle was used in the killing, an arrest report states.
According to court filings, Tate and the younger Winfield began dating in September and moved in together at the Blackwood Road residence in May. But the relationship ended soon afterward.
A petition for order of protection, filed by Tate on May 23, states that Winfield had showed up at the house, banged on doors and windows and threatened to kill Tate and burn down the residence if she didn't let him inside.
Tate wrote in the petition that Winfield had previously choked her, struck her with a log, pulled her hair and dragged her on the ground.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Richard Moore issued an order of protection against Winfield on May 23 that restricted his contact with Tate through June 20. The day the court order expired, Tate returned to court with another petition for order of protection. She claimed that, days earlier, Winfield had again beaten and threatened her.
"He said I was going to make him do something to me, and him kill us both," Tate wrote in the court filing.
Tate also accused Winfield of breaking into her bedroom on six occasions after the two separated. She said that in one encounter, Tate "jumped out of a truck" after seeing her in the 3300 block of West 10th Street, then choked her, pulled her hair and said "love [is] forever."
Moore issued another order of protection against Winfield effective through July 18. Court records show the order was still in effect when Winfield, who resided at 4414 W. 14th St. after the breakup, was shot at Tate's home Monday.
Court records show Winfield had a criminal history going back 14 years that included felony drug-possession convictions and numerous misdemeanor convictions, such as criminal trespassing and carrying a weapon.
A woman obtained an order of protection against him for 17 days in 2005, citing domestic abuse. Winfield was charged with domestic battery and first-degree battery in 2005 and 2006, respectively, but the charges were dropped in both cases.
Tate has also been accused of domestic abuse. Her ex-husband, Frank Tate, obtained an order of protection against her for 14 days in 2002. Court records show that in 2014, when the couple had been estranged for three years, he unsuccessfully petitioned for another order of protection against her on grounds of domestic abuse.
The two divorced in December 2015 after 18 years of marriage.
Tate's next court appearance in the murder case is scheduled for Sept. 6.
Winfield's death is the 17th homicide of the year in Little Rock.
Metro on 07/07/2016