Man pleads not guilty to shooting a cow, other charges

 John Keifer Adams
John Keifer Adams

BENTONVILLE -- A Springdale man pleaded not guilty Monday to criminal charges including one related to shooting a cow with a stolen handgun.

John Keifer Adams, 18, is charged with first-degree criminal mischief and theft by receiving, both felonies. He also is charged with misdemeanor cruelty to animals. Adams pleaded not guilty at his arraignment before Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green.

Adams was arrested June 9 and is accused of destroying another person's livestock valued at more than $1,000, according to court documents.

Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Adams after he told them he and his friends had broken into vehicles in Rogers and Bentonville, according to the affidavit.

Adams told deputies a juvenile male stole a Glock 27 .40-caliber pistol from an unlocked car near an elementary school in Bentonville, the affidavit states.

Adams said he didn't mean to kill the cow, adding he "could have put all the rounds in the cow's head" if he wanted to, according to the affidavit.

The 15-month-old heifer belonged to Jeff Chambless, who has a farm on Wagner Road near Centerton.

Nichole Chambless, Jeff Chambless' wife, said they killed the cow after they found it with gunshot wounds. The family hadn't planned to slaughter the cow, she said.

The family had the cow butchered, and the butcher found two bullets in the animal, according to the affidavit.

Deputies found $3,000 in stolen items, including a GPS, an iPhone and a radar detector, at Adams' home.

Adams was being held in the Benton County Jail on a $10,000 bond Monday.

NW News on 07/19/2016

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